A Good Match
by Briarrows69
Summary: Chapter 13 is finally here! If any faithful readers of this story still exist, after over a year, here is my gift to you!
1. Summer Schoolwork

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Potter Universe. It all belongs to the amazing J.K. Rowling, who, I might add, is a genius! I only like to force the characters to do things they would never do without the assistance of chemical substances!!!! _

_Pairing: Harry/Severus …. If this freaks you out, then PLEASE don't read any further, I don't really appreciate reviews telling me how sick I am, okay? P.S. Harry is underage, even in the __U.K.__ okay? He's in his 5th year in this fic, but don't worry, it doesn't get really heavy for a while…maybe not ever, because I don't have much confidence in writing naughty scenes like that. -_

_Summary: Harry tries a blood magic potion to better understand his summer potions homework, but mixes up the name with another potion that binds the drinker to his or her most compatible match in ability(not necessarily romantic, for instance, siblings are often bonded). Guess who Harry gets bonded with?_

_Spoilers: All the books, especially the 4th one, so if you haven't read it, well, you'll find out what happens._

_Author's Note: Yes, I know there are several fics out there just like this one, but I just wanted to write my own and maybe get a few nice reviews, so give me a break okay?   _

Chapter 1: Summer Homework

Harry glared at the assignment sheet he had received from his Potions Master on the last day of classes. He had enough on his mind at the moment, and certainly no time to be researching how human blood is used in potions. It was the second week of summer vacation; Harry was trying to distract himself from the events of June by doing his homework; not only had Voldemort returned at the end of June, but Cedric Diggory had died. Harry was feeling the guilt from this every time his head hit his pillow, which was pretty often considering there wasn't really anything to do in the house besides sleep, eat, and do homework, and the Dursleys would never let him outside.  

            Besides all of the extra weight of dread that the rise of the Dark Lord had caused, Harry was also experiencing troubles at home, or #4 Privet Drive (he hated thinking of this place as his home). Uncle Vernon hadn't met his quota last year for the number of drills he had wanted to sell, and was under major pressure from his company president. Grunnings was very close to selling out, and the Dursleys no longer had money to spare. So Aunt Petunia was forced to find work; she couldn't simply be hired by Uncle Vernon because the company couldn't spare to pay any more employees at the moment. Every morning, night, and most afternoons, Aunt Petunia could be found at the kitchen table with the job ads section of the newspaper spread out in front of her, clutching a red pen in her bony hand and biting her tongue between her teeth. She was extremely prone to snapping at anyone who disturbed her, including her precious Dudders. Harry was often at the receiving end of these explosions. 

            "It's your entire fault, you know that don't you?" She would hiss every morning from behind a rustling paper. "If we didn't have the extra cost of _you under our roof, we wouldn't have this problem!"_

            Harry didn't bother setting her straight. His aunt was impossible to reason with. Even Uncle Vernon was easier to handle, as he was much more predictable than his Aunt (all Uncle Vernon would do was shout a lot and occasionally threaten to beat him with a broomstick; Aunt Petunia usually wouldn't get mad, but when she did she would _actually_ beat Harry with a broomstick, although that hadn't happened since Sirius had been mentioned). Harry often wondered if this unpredictable nature had to do with the fact that Aunt Petunia was a woman, but that was a different matter. 

            That was another thing that had been bothering Harry lately. He wasn't sure if it was because the women he was surrounded by were not the type he would consider being involved with, or whether he didn't want to become involved with any woman at all, because he had caught himself staring at several of the men on the television programs that his Aunt Petunia watched. She called them Soaps, which Harry didn't understand at all, because soap was never involved with what the characters were doing. They were either plotting to kill each other's spouses, or having crazed, mindless sex in their parent's beds. Harry's favorite character was an older man called Leo; Harry told himself that he only liked him the best because he was so clever at discovering the evil plots against his clients, but it could also be because he strutted around with his shirt off an awful lot. For some reason, Harry found that he paid extra close attention when Leo began to unbutton his white silk shirt after a long days work at the office, where he worked as a lawyer. 

            Harry shook his head, trying to dispel the image of a wet Leo sliding into a bubbling bath. He thought vaguely that soap was indeed involved in that scene before glaring back at the sheet Snape had passed out to all of them. 

_Summer Assignment: Read Chapter 14 of Magical Drafts and Potions and write a 3½ foot long essay on the use of human blood in Potions. For extra credit on this assignment, you may research your topic in other sources or conduct your own experiment. To receive extra credit, you must list your sources and have your parent or legal guardian sign that you have actually done as you have said._

            Harry sighed when he read the 'legal guardian' part. Like he would ask Uncle Vernon to sign that he had actually conducted his own experiment. He could just imagine how that would go. 

            _'WHAT?!__ You made a bloody potion?! IN MY HOUSE?' Then his Uncle would turn from a huge man into a huge deranged walrus and promptly slice Harry in two. Harry chuckled at the image of Uncle Vernon with two long tusks protruding from under his mustache. He wished he had someone to share that thought with. Harry laughed again at the thought of a walrus with Uncle Vernon's mustache, when he heard hushed giggling. He quickly stopped and strained his ears to hear what was being said. _

            "Is he laughing in there?"

            "Yeah, the freak's probably talking to himself!"

            "Do you think he's hearing things?"

            Harry scowled. He knew exactly who those voices belonged to: Dudley, Piers Polkiss, and some new friend of Dudley's called Rex Christiana. He had never met Rex, but had heard from Dudley that he was a rich boy who went to Smeltings. When Uncle Vernon had heard the word 'rich', he had immediately encouraged Dudley to get to know him. Supposedly, Rex came over every day after school during the year. And now, he must be coming over to laugh at 'the freak'.  

            Harry silently picked up his books and parchment and put them in his desk drawer. He padded softly to the door, paused to make sure they didn't know he was there, and then wrenched it open. He was greeted to the sight of three boys, one short and skinny with a pointed face (Piers), one tall and fatter than the average fat person (Dudley), and one tall, blonde-haired, attractive boy. Each of them had identical looks of stunned horror on their faces, like the look of a five-year old caught with a stolen cookie from a cookie jar.          

"Hello," Harry said pleasantly. "You must be Rex," Harry held out his hand with a smile on his face. "It's a pleasure to meet you, truly." Rex shakily extended his hand and shook Harry's. 

            "Piers, old chap! It's been a while!" Harry sported a huge grin as he shook Piers' small hand with both of his own. 

            "And lastly Dudley, my beloved cousin! You should have just knocked, you know, if you wanted me to come out to meet your friends." He said sternly. Dudley looked exceptionally nervous and shuffled his feet guilty. Piers was looking at Harry with curiosity, no doubt noticing the change from the meek little boy he used to help beat up to the teenager who was reprimanding his cousin. Rex was looking at Harry with a bit of hesitation, as though unsure whether to look or run away. He had obviously heard stories of Harry's 'criminal record'.  

            "Er...we were just, um…" Dudley began to step back from Harry. Piers was looking aghast at his friend's behavior. He had always thought that Dudley beat Harry senseless, but instead, he was witnessing his friend backing away! Obviously, Harry was more dangerous than he thought.

            "Leaving, right?" Harry said sharply. If he cared to listen to himself, he might have laughed at how much he sounded like Mrs. Weasley telling off Fred and George.  

            "Erm, yes…"

            "Good! I'm trying to work in here, you know. All that work from St. Brutus's…they really pile it on, especially for us more dangerous criminals…" Harry trailed off, and inside, he cheered at the looks of terror on the three boys faces.

            "Now, I don't want to hear anymore from out here, is that understood? If you have anything to say to me, say it to my face! If you dare…" Harry growled. He hoped he was doing a good job of acting like an Incurably Criminal Boy. 

            Dudley squeaked and turned around as fast as he could, which wasn't saying much considering Rex and Piers were already at the stairs by the time Dudley had turned around.

            Harry slammed the door and smiled when he heard the clear tenor of Rex's voice.

            "I thought you said he was ugly…"  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Harry rolled over in his bed and looked at the alarm clock on his bedside table. It read 3:28. He groaned and pressed his face into his pillow. He had just awoken from a nightmare. Harry tried to think of something else, but the details kept repeating themselves in his mind. 'Strange,' he thought 'how when you want to remember a dream, you can't, but when you don't want to remember, you can'. 

            The dream had been one of Cedric. Harry had been on what appeared to be a battlefield. It had been dark, and there was fog obscuring the faces of the dead on the ground. There had been a thin beam of light coming through the clouds in the sky. The sun was shining on one particular body, and Harry had stumbled over to it. He heard scuttling sounds, but paid them no attention. The body was on its back, and Harry stared into the face. He didn't recognize it. Suddenly, the face cleared; it was Cedric, staring unseeingly in front of him. The clicking sounds became louder, and Harry let out a horrified scream when he saw what was making the noise; thousands of tiny cockroaches, backs glossy and hard, scuttling over Cedric's body. They were fast approaching his open mouth and Harry tried to beat them away. They clung to Harry's hand and began to climb up his own arms and Harry screamed. That's when he had woken up.

            Harry let out another groan and turned over on his back. At this rate, he'd have to pay a visit to the now familiar toilet; he'd been throwing up in it almost every night. Harry had lost an alarming amount of weight from that. If he went to the doctors, they'd probably pronounce him to be bulimic.  

            A soft hooting distracted him from his thoughts. Hedwig was back! She must have returned while he had been having his nightmare! Harry hastily reached for his glasses and put them on. Hedwig was sitting on top of her open cage, her jewel-like eyes twinkling in the moonlight. 

            "Hey girl," he whispered, as he slid out of bed. He reached out and stroked her feathers. She hooted in response and gently nipped an offered finger.

            "Did you have fun out there?" he asked softly. He received a dignified hoot in response and he smiled. Hedwig always made him feel better. Suddenly, Hedwig began flapping her wings. 

            "What's wrong girl?" Harry asked, surprised at her sudden outburst. Hedwig hooted apologetically and stuck out her leg. There was a letter tied to it. 

            "Mail?" Harry immediately began to panic. His birthday wasn't for another two weeks and there was really no reason for anyone to send him a message otherwise. Had something happened? Had Voldemort gathered his forces? Was he going to attack? Harry hurriedly untied the message and turned on the lamp beside his bed. He blinked his eyes at the sudden light, and stared at the envelope, waiting for his vision to clear. 

            It was indeed a Hogwarts letter. It was small, not like the ones he got with his book lists and everything. Harry sat down on the bed and ripped at the seal. Hedwig shuffled closer to get a better look. Harry reached in a pulled out one piece of parchment and unfolded it. His eyes widened as he read. 

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_            It has come to our attention that the residence that you are now residing in may no longer be appropriate for your needs. We regret to inform you that you must return to __Hogwarts__School__ of Witchcraft and Wizardry as soon as possible. We apologize for the short notice, but we feel that it is necessary for a Hogwarts representative to come and collect you tomorrow afternoon to ensure your safety in traveling. The code word will be 'sour milk'. If you have any doubts whether the person who comes to collect you is the right person, ask them for the code word. Further explanations will be divulged on your arrival. Have a safe journey and we will see you soon. _

_                                                                                                Hogwarts Staff_

            Harry let out the breath he had been holding. What was going on? '…no longer appropriate for your needs…'  Bullshit! The Dursleys had never been _appropriate for his needs!_ This was obviously an excuse for saying, 'we think you are not safe.' Why don't they just bloody say it?

              And what was this 'sour milk' shit? Dumbledore had obviously had a hand in thinking up that one. And who was the representative coming to get him that Harry might not trust? Would Snape show up at his door for Christ's sake? Harry stifled a laugh, imagining Snape, in his billowing black robes, at the doorstep. Uncle Vernon would have a fit! 'Oh wait,' Harry thought. 'Uncle Vernon!' His uncle would probably give birth to a cow if he saw a wizard on his doorstep! Well, there was no time to cancel this…he'd just have to hope for the best.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Harry sat on the bottom stair, chin resting in his hands, waiting for the 'Hogwarts representative'. He had told his aunt and uncle of the arrival that morning, and they had been furious. Dudley had shut himself up in his room, petrified in fear of a repeat of last year's encounter with wizards. Harry didn't blame him; he would be nervous too. Especially since Harry had a pretty good feeling that it was Snape who was coming to get him. After all, who else was part of the Hogwarts staff that Harry might not trust? If Dudley met Snape, he'd no doubt shrink into a puddle of gloop at the sight of him.   

            Uncle Vernon was acting much as he had last year. Except this time, he had not boarded up the fireplace, nor did he pretend to be reading the paper while really listening for a car. He had his best suit on again, and had smoothed his hair down with gel, but it was sticking up in the back because he had kept rubbing his neck, which he did when he was nervous. Aunt Petunia was reading the want ads in the kitchen; she wasn't planning on greeting the wizard.

            Harry sighed and stared at the fireplace along with Uncle Vernon. The letter hadn't really specified a time, only saying 'afternoon'. It was exactly 12:30. Harry had already eaten a meager lunch of one half of a bagel and one tiny slice of butter, and he was ready to go; the tension in the room was starting to make him feel claustrophobic. 

           The sound of a car pulling up, an engine turning off, and then a door slamming brought Harry back out of his thoughts. No way had the wizard driven…? Uncle Vernon leapt up from the sofa and stomped to the window. He peeked out through the holes in the lace curtain and inhaled a sharp breath. 

            "Boy! Is that him?"

            Harry stood up and was about to look out of the window, when he heard someone knocking on the door.

            "Answer that!" his uncle hissed.

            Harry walked to the door and opened it cautiously. 

            Severus Snape stood on the doorstep. 

            "Sour milk." He said, voice dripping with mock courtesy.  

TBC? Hey, by the way, I consider Snape to look kind of like the guy who played Lucius Malfoy in the second movie, but with black hair. Don't get me wrong, I ADORE Alan Rickman, but when I read the books, I thought of Snape as a tall, thin man with long black hair and a deep voice. I imagine Harry looking like…well, go to www.rhysennmorethanart.org, go to the fanart section, and check out the picture done by impshie, called Blinking Harry. I know he looks girlish, but that's how I imagine him!!! Anyway, review!!!!!!!!


	2. Journey to Hogwarts & Some Answers

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Potter Universe. It all belongs to the amazing J.K. Rowling, who, I might add, is a genius! I only like to force the characters to do things they would never do without the assistance of chemical substances!!!! _

_Pairing: Harry/Severus …. If this freaks you out, then PLEASE don't read any further, I don't really appreciate reviews telling me how sick I am, okay? P.S. Harry is underage, even in the __U.K.__ okay? He's in his 5th year in this fic, but don't worry, it doesn't get really heavy for a while…maybe not ever, because I don't have much confidence in writing naughty scenes like that. -_

_Summary: Harry tries a blood magic potion to better understand his summer potions homework, but mixes up the name with another potion that binds the drinker to his or her most compatible match in ability(not necessarily romantic, for instance, siblings are often bonded). Guess who Harry gets bonded with?_

_Spoilers: All the books, especially the 4th one, so if you haven't read it, well, you'll find out what happens._

_Author's Note: Yes, I know there are several fics out there just like this one, but I just wanted to write my own and maybe get a few nice reviews, so give me a break okay?   _

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 2: Journey to Hogwarts & Some Answers

            Harry's jaw dropped. He couldn't believe it! Well, maybe he could believe the fact that Snape was standing on his doorstep; after all, he had predicted it. What he couldn't believe was that Snape was wearing muggle clothes. And he looked…well, better than Harry thought he would. Not that he had been wondering what Snape would look like in muggle clothes…his professor was wearing black slacks with a black shiny belt and a button up black shirt with the sleeves rolled up past his elbows. An expensive looking silver watch adorned his wrist, and Harry couldn't help but notice that the top three buttons of his shirt were undone. He looked…well, classy.  

            "Potter, when you've finished treating us to your highly accurate impression of a goldfish, would you kindly get yourself in the car?"

            Harry flushed and clenched his jaw to stop a response. He turned around and retrieved his trunk and Hedwig's cage from the hall and trudged back to the door. He found Snape surveying Uncle Vernon, and almost laughed at the familiar curl of Snape's upper lip. 

            "You –you drive a car, do you?" Uncle Vernon had said, showing a tremendous amount of resistance to the look that made 7th years tremble. 

            Snape stared, then sneered and said slowly, "Yes, it would appear that way, wouldn't it?

            Uncle Vernon fidgeted a bit at this, not taking well to being thought of as daft. "Well, what model is it?" he asked gruffly. 

            Snape stared again, and then said, "I honestly don't care, and nor should you." Then he aimed his sharp glare at Harry. He smirked at seeing Harry grunt with effort to drag his trunk. 

            "Allow me, Potter," he drawled lazily. He then bent down, grasped the handle, and easily pulled it out the door. Harry glared. He wasn't stupid. He had seen Snape mutter an anti-weight spell. Obviously, like Dumbledore, he didn't need a wand. Show off. 

            Harry turned to Uncle Vernon, who was looking livid at being put in his place by a wizard.  

            "Well, bye then. Thanks for, um, understanding and all." Harry muttered awkwardly. 

            Uncle Vernon grunted in response, and, looking furious at the sight of them, slammed the door in Harry's face. Well, Harry hadn't really been expecting anything but –it would have been nice if just once –

            "Potter! Come!" Snape barked. 

            Harry sighed, then carried Hedwig's cage down to the car. He gasped.   

            It was a sleek black convertible, with tan leather seats and a highly advanced sound system. Harry whistled, and then remembered Snape was there. He looked up at the man, whose eyebrow was raised, giving him a look that said quite plainly, 'You are odd.' 

            Harry decided not to comment; the less they talked the better. He opened the door and slid in. Snape did the same beside him, and shut his door. Harry did the same, then stared at his lap. He waited for a few seconds, then wondered why they weren't going anywhere. He looked up, and his mouth dropped for the second time that day.

            Snape was running his fingers through his hair, gathering it into a ponytail at the base of his neck. His long fingers were running through it without a hitch, and his shirt was tightening around his chest from his raised arms. Harry gulped and quickly looked away. This was not going well. Why, why did Harry suddenly feel like he was watching the handsome Leo removing his shirt?

            "I hate this damn car," Snape muttered next to him as he twisted a black hair band around the finished ponytail. "Can't drive without getting hair in my mouth – 

            "Has it always been that long, sir?" Harry blurted, before he could stop himself. Snape's hair was now past his shoulders.  

            Snape turned and looked at him, the right side of his mouth curving upward in what looked like a smile slash smirk. 

            "No," he answered as he put the key in the ignition. The car revved to life. "I started to let it grow last year."

            "It's –Harry paused, but he had already started, so what was the point? "It's, erm, nice."

            Snape smirked, pushed down the brake, and slammed his foot on the gas pedal.

            "Ack!" Harry's back slammed against the seat and he hastily put his seatbelt on. Great. Snape just _had_ to be one of those aggressive driver types.  

            Snape let out an amused snicker and sped up even more. The wind was blowing through his hair, and Harry shut his eyes tight. He could see the headlines now: Boy Who Lived Dies in Car Crashed by Maniacal Driver. 

Snape made a sharp right at the end of the block and the tires squealed against the pavement. Harry made a squeak-like noise and clutched the sides of the seat. If there's one down side to leather, it's that it's hard to cling to. 

"Sir!" Harry said loudly, as they narrowly avoided a passing cat. "Shouldn't we slow down?"

"Au contraire, Potter!" Snape shouted over the noise of the wind. "Where's that Gryffindor sense of adventure?" he asked with a mocking tone. 

Harry started at that, and went back to clutching his seat. He missed the smile the graced Snape's lips. Suddenly, Harry heard the sound of traffic. Oh God. They'd reached the main road. 

_Screech  _

"Imbecile! What's the rush, it's only Saturday!" Snape roared at the offending car. Harry peaked out of one eye just as the other driver, an acne-ridden teenager, made an obscene gesture with his hand. He heard Snape growl next to him, and knew that Snape was itching to place an obscure hex on the teen. '_Why? Why me?_'

Snape had somehow managed to get to the front of a teeming line of traffic. He glared at the red light and began to flex his long fingers around the wheel. A red convertible filled with teenagers blaring loud music pulled up next to them on Harry's side. Snape slowly turned his head to the left and his upper lip twitched in disgust. He revved the car. 

The driver of the convertible, a blonde, tan, shirtless teenager looked over at him. "What's up old man?" he called as the bikini clad girls in the back giggled. "You wanna do this?"

Snape smirked and shouted, "I'd rather not, seeing as I don't prefer to have sex with other men while in different cars." Harry reddened then paled. _Oh God. Snape had just said the word 'sex'! _

The boy sputtered and his eyes bugged out of his head. Snape was still laughing after they had left the boy behind. It was a grown man's laugh, a deep, throaty sort of chuckle. Harry sat dumbfounded.      

"Professor… are you, um, okay?"

"Of course Potter! I like driving." He said this rather waspishly, as though the matter was closed. Harry looked back at the road, then groaned in pain as his head hit the back of the seat again. God, this was going to be a long ride. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Several hours later, after the horrific car ride and sitting on the very empty Hogwarts Express, Harry followed along behind Snape, who was currently leading him to the Headmaster's office. The shadow of a smile had totally disappeared from Snape's expression, leaving Harry baffled. It was like he had two personalities, a work one and a fun one. Or at least, more stress-free than normal. Snape had actually laughed! Harry had never heard him laugh! 

            Harry trotted after Snape's long strides. Honestly, he felt anxious. He had no idea why he had been taken from the Dursleys and he couldn't suppress the feeling that it had something to do with Voldemort. He remembered that Hagrid had mentioned something about a job he had to do over the summer. Was he all right? This thought made Harry walk faster. Oh God, if something had happened to him…it would be all his fault. Just like everything else.  

            "Amok!" Snape barked. Harry jumped, startled. He hadn't realized that they had reached Dumbledore's office. The stone gargoyle leapt aside and the wall split open behind him. Harry followed Snape through the opening and stepped onto the spiral staircase. Snape crossed his arms and glared straight ahead, as though the air in front of him was offensive. Harry noticed that Snape's fingers were curling and un-curling around his elbow. He seemed to flex his fingers when he was impatient. Harry filed this away for future reference. The silence was rather awkward as the stairs took their slow time spiraling upwards, but Harry didn't dare say anything; the few words they had exchanged in the car and on the train had been short and snappish. Obviously, Snape had no desire to converse. Well that was okay, Harry didn't really want to converse with Snape either.

            The top landing came into view and Harry stood up straight. He was practically bursting with curiosity. Snape seemed to sense this because he looked down at him and smirked.

            "Curiosity killed the cat, remember Potter," he muttered dryly as he turned his gaze to the door. 

            Harry's eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything. Bastard. Convertible-driving bastard.

            The door opened on its own accord and Snape strode in, Harry following close behind. 

            "Ah, Severus! Back safely?" Albus Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk, sorting through papers and sucking on a sugar quill with gusto. 

            "Yes Albus, we are still in one piece." He said scathingly as he sank into a chair. Harry paused before sitting in the other one.

            "You'll have to excuse me, Harry," Albus said cheerily. "Severus has a worrying habit of driving rather recklessly." The headmaster's eyes twinkled.  

            "Yes sir, I," Harry cleared his throat. "Noticed." 

            Albus let out an amused chuckle before setting down the quill and folding his hands over his papers. '_Here it comes_...' Harry thought.

            "Harry," The headmaster began. "As you know, Voldemort has indeed risen again. After assessing the situation – the Ministry not cooperating, several resourceful Death Eaters by his side – we, the staff, felt that you would be safer inside the walls of Hogwarts."

            Harry nodded, letting out the breath he had been holding. He had been sure he would be told that Sirius had been caught, or that Hagrid had been hurt on his mission, or something else just as horrible. 

            "I understand sir."

            "Good!" the old wizard clapped his hands together. "Now, all that's left is the arrangement of your accommodations." Harry nodded.

            "We would like you to take a room on the lower level of the castle Harry, we don't want you in the Gryffindor Tower all by yourself." Harry bristled a little at that. It wasn't like he needed anyone to hold his hand! He heard Snape tut next to him and he blushed a bit. _Great, now he thinks I'm even more of a little boy. _

            "Now, we have picked out a room near the kitchens, so if you need anything, I'm sure that Dobby will be delighted to help you." The headmaster smiled at this, and Harry tried to smile back. He was still sore from the baby comment.

            "You may go anywhere you like, except of course, the teachers offices and classrooms. The library will be free to you. Madam Pince may even ask you to help her with re-helving some books. You will eat meals with the staff remaining at Hogwarts. Dinner is at 6 o'clock. I believe I have covered everything, haven't I Severus?"

'Severus' grunted.

"So, Harry, do you have any questions?" 

Harry thought hard, looking for something casual to say. He didn't feel like prying into Voldemort issues, but he couldn't help it.

"How are things going with, er, June's events?"

Dumbledore sighed, and his shoulders sagged. Harry felt instantly guilty for destroying the cheerful atmosphere. 

"Well, Cornelius is still in a state of denial, I'm afraid. Mr. Weasley is rallying as many people as possible to believe the truth, but that has been proven to be difficult. Hagrid left with Madame Maxime last week. They are going to try and contact some giants that are still living in the mountains and attempt to persuade them to join our side. Sirius and Remus are congregating with many who fought bravely the last time Voldemort was a threat." Harry nodded, remembering Dumbledore mentioning 'the old crowd' in the infirmary. "Other than that, not much will happen until school has started, I'm afraid, which gives us little time."

"Yes," Harry said softly.

"Anything else then?"

Harry paused. 

"Why was the code word 'sour milk'?"

Dumbledore laughed. "When I told Severus that he had to go and collect you, he choked on his tea. I asked him if the milk was sour. He didn't seem to appreciate that comment." Albus had a secret sort of smile on his face. Harry nodded and looked over at Snape. He was flexing his fingers again and looked increasingly annoyed by the second.  

"Any more questions? Ask now Harry, the stupidest question is the one left unasked." Was there really anything else? He glanced over at Snape again. Hmmm, well, why not?

"Sir, I was wondering if I could have access to the Potions classroom. The summer assignment sheet said we could experiment for extra credit on the blood potions…"

"Why don't you use your own ingredients, Potter?" Snape spat. "Surely you have some left over from last year?"

"Erm, well no, and I haven't been to Diagon Alley yet…" Snape opened his mouth, no doubt to say something cutting, but Dumbledore stepped in.

"Don't worry Harry; we will get your school supplies. I'm afraid it's up to Severus as to whether or not you can use the Potions classroom." 

Harry looked over at Snape. Well, there goes that thought. 

"I see enough of you in my classroom during school Potter." Snape sneered. "That is all I can handle." Harry exhaled heavily. The man would never change. 

"Severus, I'm sure that you can find time for Harry to make use of-

"As you said yourself, Albus," Snape said shortly. "It is my decision. I see I'm not needed any longer, and I bid you good day. Stay out of my way Potter." With that said he got up from his chair and stalked out of the room. 

Harry sighed. "Does he always have to have a dramatic exit?"

Dumbledore laughed. "Yes Harry, he does."

TBC

Hey, I'm sorry about the link! I think its . Anyway, thank you so much for all the reviews, I loved them! You all make me feel so inspired! Hee hee, I hope you all liked the insanedriver!Severus. I can just see him, cursing out random cars and honking his horn if someone doesn't move fast enough! Review, tell me what you thought and I'll try to have the next chapter up by March 2, it's so hard to update during the week. Again, thank you so much for your kind words!   


	3. Breakfast Happenings & a Botched Up Poti...

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Potter Universe. It all belongs to the amazing J.K. Rowling, who, I might add, is a genius! I only like to force the characters to do things they would never do without the assistance of chemical substances!!!! _

_Pairing: Harry/Severus …. If this freaks you out, then PLEASE don't read any further, I don't really appreciate reviews telling me how sick I am, okay? P.S. Harry is underage, even in the __U.K.__ okay? He's in his 5th year in this fic, but don't worry, it doesn't get really heavy for a while…maybe not ever, because I don't have much confidence in writing naughty scenes like that. -_

_Summary: Harry tries a blood magic potion to better understand his summer potions homework, but mixes up the name with another potion that binds the drinker to his or her most compatible match in ability(not necessarily romantic, for instance, siblings are often bonded). Guess who Harry gets bonded with?_

_Spoilers: All the books, especially the 4th one, so if you haven't read it, well, you'll find out what happens._

_Author's Note: Yes, I know there are several fics out there just like this one, but I just wanted to write my own and maybe get a few nice reviews, so give me a break okay?   _

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Chapter 3: Meal Happenings & a Botched Up Potions Experiment

            Harry followed dutifully behind Professor McGonagall as she led him to his new rooms, his luggage floating at the rear. He smiled as he recognized where they were. The walls were high and there were many paintings of fruit; he had made many trips down this hall last year; Professor McGonagall wasn't to know that. 

            "Here it is, Potter." McGonagall had stopped and stood in front of a large painting of a fresh-out-of the-oven bread loaf on a cutting board. It looked very realistic. 

            "Now Potter, the password is 'Poppin Fresh', but you may change it if you'd like."

            "How do I change it?" Harry asked curiously. 

            "You simply inform the painting that you would like to change the password after you have given it the original one. However, I do recommend that you keep it the same, Potter." She suddenly looked slightly less composed than before. "Who knows if we will have to reach you."

            Harry nodded.

            "Well," she said briskly, recovering, "Dinner is at 6 Potter, so don't be late." She gave him one final curt nod, then turned on her heel and left.

            Harry turned and looked down the hall. Yes, the picture of the familiar bowl of fruit was two paintings away on the other side. 'This is going to be okay' Harry thought. Now to explore the room.      

            Harry said, "Poppin Fresh," and the picture slid upwards, revealing a square opening. A small set of stairs descended to the ground so that Harry could reach the hole and he climbed up them, curiosity mounting high. Once he got up the stairs, he traveled down another small set and found himself in a tiny, red carpeted room with a door on the other end. The picture slid closed behind him. Harry guessed that this must be some kind of entrance room. There were several hooks for cloaks and a mirror on the right wall. Harry stepped up to the door, and turned the knob. And entered what would be his room until school started. 

            Harry gasped at the size of it. It was huge! The room was carpeted in a rich white that looked like it was feather-soft and the walls were painted a pastel yellow. Harry walked a bit further into the room and he stared in awe at how magnificent everything was. A roaring fireplace stood in front of a table that had three comfortable chairs seated around it. There was a deep oak walk-in wardrobe and when Harry looked in it, he saw that his school robes and clothes were already hung up. The bed was a canopy bed also made from oak with white sheets and a squishy soft looking comforter. There were curtains around the bed just like in the dormitories, but they were white see-through, instead of red velvet. 

Harry by-passed the bed and headed to the open door to the right of it, and walked into the bathroom. It was brightly lit with candles floating above the ceiling, and it looked very much like the prefects bathroom but not as big. Everything was marble, including the shower, which had a frosty glass door. The bath sunk deep into the floor and Harry grinned when he saw about ten taps, waiting to be turned on. He turned and shut the door, then walked over to the bath and turned on one of the taps. Hot water instantly filled the bath. Harry quickly untied his shoes, pulled off his socks and the rest of his clothes, and slid into the bath. He sighed as the water came up to his chest and settled back against the edge of the tub. 'This will be okay…'

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After his bath, Harry had dried, wrapped a white robe around himself, and walked out of the bathroom. He glanced at the clock that was on an elaborate mantel piece to see how much time he had left, saw the time and cursed, then hurried to get dressed. He only had 1 minute, and Dumbledore and McGonagall had told him not to be late. That bath had made him so relaxed that he totally had forgotten about the time. 

Harry wasn't sure if he should wear his school robes or not; it was still summer vacation and even though he was at school, he shouldn't have to wear the uniform right?

Harry looked at his clothes. All of them were several sizes too big, except for the sweaters that Mrs. Weasley had made and one pair of jeans that he had shrunk to fit him last year. They would do, because Harry didn't want anyone to see what he was forced to wear at the Dursleys…Harry paused as he put on the jeans. What would he do for all the other days? He'd have to ask Dumbledore if he could shrink his clothes. He didn't want to wear the same thing every day, someone would notice.

Harry pulled on the green sweater with the dragon on it from last year; it was his favorite out of all of them. He surveyed himself in the mirror in the entrance room, smoothed down his hair, which was wet on the ends from the bath, and walked up the little stairs. He stared at the back of the painting; should he push it? Was it like the Gryffindor portrait hole? Harry doubted it because the picture of the bread had slid up, instead of just moved to the side. 

"Um,"

The picture suddenly started to move. Harry sighed in relief, and then walked out and down the stairs to the floor. It seemed all he had to do was let the picture know he was there. Harry looked down at his new wristwatch and then sprinted down the hall. He made it to the marble stairs, then raced up them, so determined to get to the Great Hall on time that he didn't even notice someone walk in front of him. 

"Ah!" Harry collided with someone and began to fall backwards. Two hands shot out and grasped his arms before he could fall and yanked him upwards. He clung to the person in fear of losing his balance and buried his face into soft black robes. 

"Honestly Potter!" came that sneering hiss. "Must you be so inept?"

"Sorry sir, I didn't see you!" came a muffled reply. Harry turned bright red. He hastily stepped back and tried to look anywhere but at Snape. How embarrassing! He had just clung to his most hated teacher like a child. Those strong hands were still clutching his arms.

"Um, sir?"

"What, Potter?" he spat. 

"Could you let go? You're hurting me."

"Oh!" Snape hurriedly let go and wiped his hands down his robes, as though wiping away germs. Harry stepped back and looked up at Snape. It was hard to think that he had been wearing muggle clothes, and driving a muggle car, only hours ago now that he had his robes on again. Harry felt a little reassurance that the whole thing had actually happened when he saw that Snape's hair was still in a ponytail. 

"What were you doing down here sir?"

Snape glared at him. "I came down to retrieve you, if you must know. Dumbledore wondered where you were. You are late, obviously." He added with the usual lip curl. 

Harry flushed, then stepped around Snape and continued his journey to the Great Hall. He could sense Snape right behind him, practically breathing down his neck. God, the man was horrible! Even if he was slightly attractive in muggle clothes….

            Harry stepped into the Great Hall. It looked much like it always did, except there was only one table instead of the house tables. All of the Hogwarts Professors were present, and by the looks of things, had been waiting for him. Harry felt the heat rise in his face yet again. He heard Snape snicker behind him and resisted the urge to stomp on his foot. 

            "Ah, Harry! Didn't have any trouble did you?" The Headmaster smiled happily at him. 

"No sir, I just lost track of the time." He ground out. He could almost see Snape's triumphant smirk behind his back.

            "I suppose punctuality isn't a concept you Gryffindors can grasp," he muttered quietly so that only Harry could hear him. Before Harry could retaliate, the insufferable man strode over to his chair and sat down.

            "Why don't you sit down Harry?" Dumbledore said pleasantly. Professor McGonagall pulled out a chair next to her and peered at him from over her spectacles. Getting the point, Harry walked over and sat down next to her. As Harry sat down, he received smiles and polite greetings from his teachers and he nodded thankfully back. 

            "I believe dinner is ready," Dumbledore called down the table to the rest of the faculty. "Let us propose a toast." Everyone sat up straight as Dumbledore stood and cleared his throat. Harry quickly took hold of his glass and raised it along with everyone else. 

"To the health of everyone present and to those who we hold dear to us; to the innocent and the guilty; to those that have passed on," Harry looked at his lap, the feeling of guilt stronger than ever "and to the future. May it be a bright and joyful tomorrow." 

Everyone raised their glasses with a few scattered 'here, here's, and then took a sip. Harry did the same and looked at Dumbledore for the next cue. He smiled at him and then the food appeared. Harry, suddenly ravenous, either from the long trip or the empty feeling the toast had caused, dug a serving spoon into the mashed potatoes. The teachers around him began to strike up conversations with one another. Harry felt uncomfortable, but continued to eat in silence. He felt the familiar feeling of being watched. He looked up and caught the eye of Snape, who quickly looked away. Dumbledore, who was sitting next to Snape and had seen the exchange, leaned forward and whispered something to him. Snape's lip curled and he made a scoffing sound in the back of his throat and rapidly moved away from the older man as though in fear of catching something. Dumbledore let out a knowing chuckle. Harry stared. They were talking about him! What had Dumbledore said? Snape gave him one final glare, and then turned his attention to his plate. Harry felt rather disappointed without really knowing why, and also looked down at his plate. The rest of the meal passed without any spectacular event.      

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            The next morning, Harry awoke freely, not needing any horrifying dream to stir him. After spending several minutes nestling in the covers, Harry forced himself to get up and take a shower. Once hygiene was taken care of, Harry put on the same jeans he had on yesterday with another Weasley sweater (the first one with the letter 'H' on it). His stomach grumbled, telling him it was time to head to breakfast. Harry walked to the door and snuck a small glance at the mirror over the dresser in the corner. He couldn't help but sigh gloomily; he still looked boyish, on the brink of 15, in his knitted sweater and jeans. The other boys in his dorm would probably look like towers when he saw them again. Harry wasn't as short as he had been, but he was still shorter and thinner than the average teenage boy, and Harry couldn't help but feel that he looked rather – well, girlish. His eyes were too big, his eyelashes too thick, his neck was too long (Harry shuddered, realizing that Petunia also had a long neck; it must be a family thing), his waist was too skinny, his legs were too long, his knees – let's not even get started on the knees (God, how he hated those knobby knees!). And on top of all that, he noticed that his hair was getting a bit long. Quite a few strands were now long enough to tuck behind his ears or twirl around his finger, and several fell in front of his eyes. He shook his head to get them out of the way, and then continued on his way to the door, shaking himself. There was no need to be so concerned with his looks; it's not like anyone would want to look anyway. 

            Harry managed to get to the Great Hall without running into anybody or falling down the stairs. He was grateful that breakfast could be served whenever you wanted it, so that he wouldn't have to sit with all the other teachers. Not that he didn't like them; it just felt weird, with all of those older, smarter people around you. It was even weirder when Harry realized that he didn't know about half of the teachers Hogwarts had. It was something to work on. 

            Once Harry had gotten himself settled in a seat (No one was with him), he reached for a slice of toast and syrup. 'Some things never change,' he thought. Even though he wasn't at the Dursleys anymore, his habit of eating a very small breakfast hadn't wavered, although the Dursleys never let him eat toast soaking with syrup. He raised the dripping piece of bread to his mouth, and just as he had taken a bite, he heard a loud groan.

            "Potter! What are you doing here?" 

            Harry choked on his toast and quickly reached for a napkin to wipe away the syrup. It was Snape. He must eat breakfast at this time too. _Wonderful…_

            "I'm eating breakfast, Professor," Harry said mock-innocently. "Is there a problem with that?"

            Snape sneered at him, but continued walking towards the table and sat down across from him. "More like masticating your breakfast than eating it," _Don't blush, don't blush! "And yes, there is a problem. I don't particularly enjoy mornings, therefore your existence here makes it even less enjoyable." He said bitingly as he poured tea into a cup._

            Harry scowled.

            "I'm not changing when I eat breakfast jut so you don't have to look at me," he said, glaring. "If I'm so awful to look at then sit in another seat!"

            "I didn't say you were unpleasant to look at, Potter. I said your _existence here is less than appreciated. _

            Harry glared some more, but then what Snape said sunk in. His eyebrows rose and his mouth dropped.

"What did you say?"

"I said your existence-"

"No, before that!" Harry couldn't believe he was having this conversation. A flashback of what Snape had said in the car to that boy…. _"I don't prefer to have sex with other men while in different cars." Oh my god! Was Snape gay?_

"I don't recall what I said before that, Potter." Snape said with sudden indifference. He took a sip from his tea and picked up his fork. 

Harry couldn't believe that. Snape could remember every potion ingredient in the world and what they were used for, and he couldn't remember what he had just said? No way! Harry stared, dumbfounded, as Snape began to eat scrambled eggs without even glancing at him. Harry watched for a few more seconds before sighing in defeat and slouching in his chair. 

"Glad to see you've finished gawking." Snape muttered in between bites.

"I wasn't _gawking." Harry said back._

"Hmmm." 

_Hmmm?__ That's all he could say? Even though Snape hadn't actually said anything, by just saying hmmm, he made Harry feel even smaller than before. _

_God I hate him. _

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            After breakfast, Harry's head was filled with questions and what-ifs and half finished thoughts about Snape. He decided that since his head was so full with actual, constructive thinking, that he should take the opportunity to get some work done. After fetching several books from his room, he headed to the library. Dumbledore had said he could go there.

            Harry pushed open the double doors and looked around. He could hear someone working and what sounded like pages ruffling. Suddenly, Madam Pince appeared from behind the first book shelf.

            "So, you've decided to work in here, have you?" she said with narrowed eyes.

            "Erm, yes." Harry might not come to the library to work that much, but he was well acquainted with it through Hermione, and had concluded that Madam Pince was like a mother hen and her chicks were all the books. She was almost obsessive when it came to her library and Harry knew that she was best approached by someone who acted submissive. 

            "Well? Go on then, what is it you want?" she snapped impatiently. 

            "Er, you see, I need a book on potions using human blood…" she raised a silver eyebrow at that. "It's for potions homework." He explained quickly. 

            "Ah. Over here then," She turned on her heel and led him through rows of books that were re-shelving themselves and fighting over their places. It was quite something to see two books hitting each other with their covers. Madam Pince stopped and scanned the shelves. 

            "Here we are." Madam Pince said triumphantly. She pulled out a thick, blood red (appropriate for the topic) volume and held it in front of him. Harry reached for it, but she pulled it away. 

            "Now, I'm not going to give you a specific due date, but it must be back before school reopens." Harry nodded. "And if I find out that you've ripped, teared, shredded, folded, defaced, disfigured-" Harry waited patiently for her to finish her rant. It was the same rant that was imprinted into every book the library held, and Madam Pince seemed to love to say it out loud. "Smeared, smudged, through, dropped, or in any other manner damaged, mistreated, or shown lack of respect towards this book, the consequences will be as awful as it is within my power to make them." She gave a smile bordering on an evil smirk, as though she was imagining those consequences. "Is that understood?"

            Harry nodded.

            "Good." She barked. She held out the book for Harry and he took it. It was very heavy. Madam Pince walked away from him abruptly, and Harry placed the book into his shoulder bag; he decided that he would read this in his rooms. 

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Several hours later, after lunch, Harry had picked a potion that he wanted to attempt. He had opened the book and found, to his dismay, that the names of the potions and the descriptions of what happens when you take the potion were entirely in Latin, but he figured he'd be able to find words that resembled English ones. He knew that English had some Latin words in it, with roots and stems and things like that. It took a while to find a potion that had a word similar to any that he knew, but he finally found one. It was called '_The Comperio Animus_' potion. It sounded like it had something to do with animals. Harry had been most keen to do this potion because all of the ingredients he had left over from last year were in the potion, and he thankfully had enough.

Harry dragged out his cauldron from his trunk and hung it on the hook in the fireplace. It would be difficult to stir it, but it would have to do; Harry hadn't seen Dumbledore yet that day and still hadn't asked permission to use magic, or otherwise he would have made a magical fire.

After about an hour, Harry had finally added the last ingredient. Now all he needed was the blood. Harry was a little hesitant about this part, but was determined to finish; he really wanted to prove he could do this. He picked up his cutting knife and pricked his finger. It hurt a lot, but that made sense because the finger is one of the most sensitive parts of the body besides the lips. Harry held his finger over the cauldron and let five drops fall into the boiling surface. The potion had been a dull blue up until now, but as the last drop fell in, it suddenly blazed white. Harry sighed in relief. That meant he had done it right. The picture in the book showed a white potion; thank god the book was illustrated. Now what did he do? 

Harry consulted the page in the book again. He didn't have a clue what it said, but there was a picture of a man drinking the potion. It showed bright light around him. Maybe the potion would turn him into an animal! That would be cool. But, how would he turn back? Harry ran to his desk in another corner and scribbled a note saying what had happened. It read that he had made a potion that turned him into whatever he was now. Harry figured that he could carry the note to a teacher in whatever animal form he was. 

Harry walked back over the simmering potion and picked up the glass he found in the bathroom. He dipped a spoon into the white concoction and poured it into the glass. It felt very cool considering that it was still simmering.

"Well, here goes nothing," Harry muttered. He tilted his head back and swallowed the potion in one gulp. He could feel it sliding down his throat, leaving an icy feeling behind. Harry gasped as the feeling spread to his chest. It almost felt like a liquid chill was wrapping around his heart. Harry fell to his knees and he vaguely thought that this wasn't such a good idea. That was the last conscience thought he had. White light seemed to pour out of him, and Harry fell to the ground unconscious. He didn't see the white light turn into what looked like wispy, foggy fingers and he didn't see the fog pour out of him and make a trail out of the room, and he didn't see the fingers wrap around a certain Potions Master on his way to dinner. Severus Snape gave a startled shout as the milky fog wrapped around him and then sank right into his body. He felt a tremor race through him, and he too, fell to the floor unconscious. That was how Albus Dumbledore found him on his way to dinner. 

TBC

So, what did you think? I won't know what to do if you all don't tell me, so review! Hey, did you like all the Harry/ Severus banter? I did!!!! And what did Dumbledore say? Hell, I'm the author and I don't now what he said! And I think I finally got the link right! Last time I wrote it, but when I checked my update, it wasn't there, which was weird, so let me know if it's there. This is what Harry sees in the mirror when he's evaluating himself. Hey, I don't have a problem with how he looks at all! the credit for this goes to impishie! This artist is amazing!

P.S. In the story, Harry's birthday is coming up soon! Should Sev give him a present? If so, what should it be, I need suggestions!                 


	4. Comperio Animus

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Potter Universe. It all belongs to the amazing J.K. Rowling, who, I might add, is a genius! I only like to force the characters to do things they would never do without the assistance of chemical substances!!!! _

_Pairing: Harry/Severus …. If this freaks you out, then PLEASE don't read any further, I don't really appreciate reviews telling me how sick I am, okay? P.S. Harry is underage, even in the __U.K.__ okay? He's in his 5th year in this fic, but don't worry, it doesn't get really heavy for a while…maybe not ever, because I don't have much confidence in writing naughty scenes like that. -_

_Summary: Harry tries a blood magic potion to better understand his summer potions homework, but mixes up the name with another potion that binds the drinker to his or her most compatible match in ability(not necessarily romantic, for instance, siblings are often bonded). Guess who Harry gets bonded with?_

_Spoilers: All the books, especially the 4th one, so if you haven't read it, well, you'll find out what happens._

_Author's Note: Yes, I know there are several fics out there just like this one, but I just wanted to write my own and maybe get a few nice reviews, so give me a break okay? And I've changed the rating to R for increased cursing in later chapters and naughty thoughts.   _

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An Interlude: What Dumbledore said to Snape at Dinner:

Albus Dumbledore smiled as he observed Severus glaring at Harry. His smile grew wider as an idea – no, a theory, entered his mind. He couldn't resist testing his hypothesis. He leaned over to speak into Severus' ear. 

            "The boy's blossoming into quite the attractive youth. Isn't he, Severus?" he asked slyly.

            Severus jerked in his chair and his eyes widened at Dumbledore. He caught the old man's eyes twinkling and made a choked sound in his throat, before leaning away as far as he could from the obviously senile old man without sitting in Professor Sinistra's lap.

            Albus's smile turned into a crafty grin. Well, who would have thought?  

Chapter 4: Comperio Animus

            Harry groaned softly and turned his head to the side. His brain wasn't processing thoughts and he was still exceptionally groggy. Sounds, yells, filled his ears, although they were muffled, as though the radio station wasn't quite tuned correctly. He groaned again, and slipped back into unconsciousness. 

            "…completely hopeless! The idiot boy thought he was making an animal transformation potion for fuck's sake!"

            "Now Severus, calm down, I'm sure Harry has a reasonable explanation for-"

            "No Albus! I will NOT calm down!" Snape's roars caused Harry to groan again, and his body shifted under the thin, white sheets of the infirmary bed. 

            Snape stopped in mid rant and turned to look at the awakening boy. Albus walked swiftly to the bed and leaned over to see Harry's face, peering down his long nose.

            "Harry? Harry, can you hear me?" he asked softly. Snape grunted in annoyance. 

            "Of course the little runt can hear you, he's just faking it." Snape muttered to himself as he crossed his arms over his chest. Albus gave him a stern look over his glasses before bending down again. 

            "Harry? Harry, if you can hear me but can't speak, give me some sort of sign. Open your eyes."

            Harry didn't move.

            "Oh for god's sake, move over!" Snape hissed. He sidestepped around Albus and pointed his wand at the sleeping boy. "_Ennervate!_"

            Harry's eyes slowly opened. He blinked a few times, the white light of the infirmary candles blinding him. There was a long pause as Harry registered what was happening.

            "Am I dead?"

            "Unfortunately no, you are quite alive." Snape said sarcastically. 

            Harry turned his head to look at him. "Professor Snape? Why are you here?" he asked groggily. Professor Dumbledore's face suddenly swam into Harry's line of vision. 

            "Harry? I'm afraid something rather, ah – interesting has occurred."

            "Interesting my-

            Dumbledore cut Snape off. "Did you attempt to make a potion just now?"

            Harry hesitated. He knew that tone. It was the pacifying tone Dumbledore used when he was about to drop the news of something dreadful. What was going on? 

            "Yes…." 

            "Do you know what potion it was that you made?" 

            Harry's eyes widened when he heard those words. It was as though a light bulb had just gone on in his head, or a voice was telling him what an idiot he was. The voice sounded remarkably like Snape's and Hermione's mixed together. He suddenly was wide awake. 

            "Erm…I thought I did…"

            That was when Mount Severus Snape erupted.

            "YOU IDIOT BOY!"  

            "Severus!" Dumbledore scolded. It had no effect whatsoever. 

            "HAVE YOU GONE RAVING MAD?" A vein in Snape's forehead was making itself visible. "BREWING A POTION THAT YOU DIDN'T HAVE ANY KNOWLEDGE OF? YOU CAN'T EVEN READ LATIN FOR GOD'S SAKE!"

            Harry cringed and shrunk down into the infirmary bed. 

            "But," he whispered, "Nothing seems to have happened, I'm awake now and-" Harry stopped talking because Snape's facial expression made him forget what he was going to say.  A slightly mad grin appeared on Snape's face.

"Nothing seems to have…nothing…happened." A dry chuckle escaped his lips. "Albus?" he asked, still sounding somewhat unhinged. "May I have permission to hit the boy over the head with that vase?" he asked, pointing a shaking finger at a vase filled with daffodils.   

            "No you may not." Dumbledore responded sternly. "What is needed at this time is understanding and support, not violence." He turned his attention back to a confused and scared Harry.

            "Harry, the potion you made is called the Comperio Animus potion. Do you know what that means?"

            Snape suddenly sat down in his chair and put his head in shaking hands. Harry glanced at him before answering.

            "I thought…I thought it had something to do with animals…." He mumbled, looking down at the sheets.  The foolishness of his actions seemed much more obvious now that he thought about it. 

            "An understandable assumption," Dumbledore said kindly. "But unfortunately wrong." Harry looked up.

            "Animus does not mean 'animal', Harry. It means 'soul'"

            Harry stared. 

            "Comperio is the verb, 'to find'." Snape made a choked sound in the corner. Was he crying?

            Harry looked down at the sheets again, trying to comprehend what was so bad about this. 

            "So…what happened?"

            Snape stood up.

            "I'll tell you what happened." He said in a deadly quiet whisper. "Your soul found its mate, that's what happened." 

            This made Harry even more confused. "It…what?"

            Snape's eyes widened in disbelief. "Not only are you foolish, Potter, but you are the dimmest creature I have ever met!"

            "Severus, please!" Dumbledore's eyes flashed and he stepped in front of Snape to address Harry.

            "It's not my fault!" Harry said angrily, his face flaming. "No one's giving me a straight answer!"  

            "Harry," Dumbledore interrupted. "Your soul has found its mate in Professor Snape."

            Harry stared.

            "You said you wanted a straight answer." A faint twinkle returned to the Headmaster's eyes.

            "There is nothing humorous about this, Albus!" Snape shouted angrily. 

            "The childish way in which you are handling this is extremely so." Dumbledore said flatly. This shut Snape up. 

            Harry was still staring.

            "But-" his voice trembled. "It must be a – a mistake." 

            Snape snorted. "For once in your life, Potter, upon examination, the potion was correct. Too bad it happened to be this potion."

            Harry gaped. This was…this was all wrong, there was no way…no way! 

            "I am sorry, Harry, but Severus is right. The potion was indeed correct." Dumbledore's eyes held sympathy, and Harry quickly turned his gaze from them. This couldn't be happening.         

            "So…what, he's my soul mate?" Harry's voice began to increase in volume and he was shaking.

            "Now Harry, calm down." Dumbledore put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "A soul mate doesn't necessarily have to be romantic mate." Snape shivered very obviously behind the Headmaster. For some reason, Harry felt offended. 

            "Some people that are affected by this potion are siblings, or parent and child. It is rare, but it is possible that a pair of soul mates do not become involved in a romantic situation." Dumbledore smiled kindly down at Harry.   

            Harry thought for a moment. "If I did the potion right, then how come Professor Snape wasn't unconscious?"

            "He was," Dumbledore said, still smiling. "I found him while on my way to dinner. There was trail of magic leading from him to you. That's how we found you."

            "Oh." Harry said quietly. His one hope that maybe this was all a mistake was dashed out of the window. 

            "Yes." Snape stepped next to Dumbledore. Harry jumped, and avoided looking at Snape. "Well, since that has been taken care of, I would like to have dinner." He started to leave. 

            "I don't think so, Severus." Dumbledore called. "We have a lot to discuss." Snape stopped in his tracks and turned around on his heel.

            "What's to discuss, Albus?" Snape said silkily. "Besides the fact that our lives are ruined? I can't be a spy for you any longer?" Snape was snarling like an angry dog by now. "What else, Albus? Did I miss anything?" 

            "No, but you are incorrect on both counts." Dumbledore said tersely. He was obviously getting annoyed with the other Professor. "You will still be a spy, Severus. No one is to know about this. Not anyone," he said, suddenly looking at Harry. "Harry, please understand; if your godfather got wind of this…" 

Snape blanched. 

            "But… he has to know eventually!" Harry protested. No way was he facing this alone!

            "Yes, he will know eventually. But I'd rather wait to tell him until you are both more…amendable to the idea." A secret smile crossed his face and then disappeared as quickly as it had come. Snape sputtered.

            "Albus, I assure you, I will NEVER be amendable to this," he spat, throwing a look at Harry as he said the word, 'this'. Harry turned bright red with rage. 

            "I won't either!" Harry shouted, glaring at Snape. 

Snape turned and looked down at Harry, sneering. "Thank God." he muttered. Harry's face became, if possible, even redder. 

"Now, now you two." Dumbledore chided. "I want to be able to hold a civil conversation with you both present. Can you do that?"

"Yes," Harry muttered. Snape didn't say anything but simply looked over at Dumbledore, ignoring Harry.

"Good. Severus, in response to your thoughts, you will remain a spy for me. You will not inform Voldemort of this for any reason." 

Snape nodded.

"As to your lives, I do not believe they will be ruined. In fact, I believe that this union will prove to be most rewarding to both of you."

"I highly doubt that." 

"I'm sure you do Severus. But of course, you have made several wrong judgments in the past, haven't you?" Dumbledore said sharply. 

Snape froze.

Dumbledore's face changed to one of shock. "I apologize, Severus. That was cruel. I don't know where that came from."

Snape let out a deep breath. "It's all right, Albus. I understand. You are right, of course."

"I am sorry, Severus."

Snape nodded and sank down in a chair. A pensive look came over Snape's face, and he fell silent as Dumbledore began to speak.

"You soul's are two halves that will soon become one, and you should consider yourselves lucky that you have found one another. I suggest that you two get to know each other before the soul-sealing ceremony-"

"Wait, what?" Harry interrupted. He had been sitting, spell-bound for the last minute, watching the headmaster and Snape, but he couldn't stop himself from interrupting. 

"The soul-searing ceremony. It will bind your souls together, allowing you to know exactly where the other half of you is, and what they are feeling."

"Oh," Harry said, dumbfounded. 

"Don't worry, Harry, that won't happen for a while." Dumbledore chuckled. "We will perform the ceremony as soon as you are both comfortable with each other, and I have a feeling that that will take a long time." 

Harry nodded. The more Dumbledore said, the more Harry began to think that he was dreaming; this was absolutely insane.

"Now, we have six weeks until school opens. I know I am asking a lot of you, but I am hoping that you will be able to perform the ceremony by Christmas. The advantages of your soul's bond may well prove to be essential in the war."

Harry started. He had totally forgotten about Voldemort for a second. 

            "In the mean time, I want you two to spend as much time as possible together, before the school reopens. Once school is back in session, it will be hard to keep this a secret if people see you together."

            Harry nodded, understanding.

            "Will the faculty know about this?" Snape said tiredly.

            "Yes, I think that would be best." Dumbledore answered.

            Snape sighed heavily. 

            "I think it would be best if we had dinner now, don't you?"

            "Gladly," Snape stood up and headed for the door. 

            Harry slid out from under his covers and also stood up. He stepped into his unlaced shoes and bent down to tie them up. After he was done, he straightened and looked up at Dumbledore. 

            "Professor? I have a question."

            "Go ahead, Harry." He said kindly. Snape stopped and listened while trying to look like he wasn't. 

             "May I, er, shrink my clothes?" Whatever the headmaster expected, it wasn't that.

            "What do you mean, Harry?"

            "Well, all my clothes belonged to Dudley at one point, and they're all too big to wear…" 

            "You mean, you don't have any clothes of your own?" Dumbledore frowned.

            "Just the sweaters Mrs. Weasley made for me, and my robes." Harry said sheepishly, and he shuffled his feet. Snape turned and looked at him, his forehead furrowed in question and his mouth open, as though he was going to say something. 

            "Yes Harry, you may shrink your clothes. Perhaps maybe the Muggle Studies teacher, Professor Carroll, can take you into muggle London and you can purchase clothes of your own there. How about tomorrow?" He still looked worried. 

            "Er... okay." Harry answered. 

            "Oh!" Dumbledore shouted eagerly. "Severus! You could go with Harry! It could be your first outing with your soul mate!" The Headmaster sounded downright excited now. 

Snape paled.   

            "With all due respect, Albus," Snape said. "I'd rather not."

            "Oh come now, Severus," Dumbledore waved his hands dismissively at Snape. There was a scheming gleam in the old man's eyes. "It will be fun! You can learn about Harry's taste in clothes!" 

            Harry, who wasn't aware that he had any such taste, began to panic. 

            "However intriguing that may be," Snape said dryly. "I think Potter would prefer if I did not attend."

            For once, Harry was thankful for Snape's comment.  

            "Nonsense, Severus! Harry doesn't mind, do you Harry?"

            Harry opened his mouth to respond.

            "See? Now that that's taken care of, let's go to dinner, shall we?" With that, the Headmaster strode out of the infirmary, leaving a pale Harry and a quietly seething Snape behind.

            Harry glanced at Snape, who looked like he was capable of destroying the nearest object. 

            "Erm, shall we go, Professor?" Harry asked timidly.

            Snape jerked out of his trance. 

            "Yes, yes, go Potter." Snape held the door open.

            Harry was a little nervous about walking past Snape, but he did as he was told and walked quickly past the tall man.

            "Potter."

            Harry turned to look back at Snape, who was closing the infirmary door. 

            "Why don't you have your own clothes?" Harry was surprised by the curiousness in Snape's voice. Was that worry he heard there as well?

            "Well, the Dursleys didn't want to spend any money on me. So they gave me all of Dudley's old clothes, once he grew out of them."

            "Was it the same way with everything else?" Snape seemed like he was trying to cover up something in his voice.

            "Yes." Harry said quietly. 

            Snape was looking at him, as though calculating something.

            "I slept in a cupboard until I got my Hogwarts letter." Harry said suddenly. He instantly wished he could take his words back. Why had he said that?

            Snape's eyes had widened. "You did?"

            Harry nodded. He realized he was making eye contact with Snape. 'It's not so bad' he thought vaguely.

            "Severus! Harry!" the Headmaster called. 

            Snape looked away, and started walking. Harry did the same and followed him. 

            '_This is so weird…'_

TBC

Well, I figured out that you can't post a link on ff.net. How stupid is that? Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. I will be posting a new chapter every Sunday except for this Sunday because my mom and I are going away for Spring Break! YAY! For Harry's hot picture, drawn by impishie, the only way to see it is to type in 'Magical Intrigue' in search or something. It's in the artwork section of 'Rhysenn's Magical Intrigue' (website).

Or, if you leave me your email address and ask for the picture, I'll just send it to you.

So, how did you like the dialogue? I hope I got it right; it's hard to do Dumbledore and Severus together. Did you like confused!Harry? Wasn't he so cute? I think so! Tell me what you thought, please! And I appreciate all the ideas about what present to give Harry, but I still don't know what the present should be. Oh well. And as for Professor Carroll, I don't know what the Muggle Studies teacher is named, so I made it up. 

REVIEW!!! I really appreciate it!!!!!!!!!   


	5. The Dreaded Outing and Bad Memories

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Potter Universe. It all belongs to the amazing J.K. Rowling, who, I might add, is a genius! I only like to force the characters to do things they would never do without the assistance of chemical substances!!!! _

_Pairing: Harry/Severus …. If this freaks you out, then PLEASE don't read any further, I don't really appreciate reviews telling me how sick I am, okay? P.S. Harry is underage, even in the __U.K.__ okay? He's in his 5th year in this fic, but don't worry, it doesn't get really heavy for a while…maybe not ever, because I don't have much confidence in writing naughty scenes like that. -_

_Summary: Harry tries a blood magic potion to better understand his summer potions homework, but mixes up the name with another potion that binds the drinker to his or her most compatible match in ability(not necessarily romantic, for instance, siblings are often bonded). Guess who Harry gets bonded with?_

_Spoilers: All the books, especially the 4th one, so if you haven't read it, well, you'll find out what happens._

_Author's Note: Yes, I know there are several fics out there just like this one, but I just wanted to write my own and maybe get a few nice reviews, so give me a break okay? And I've changed the rating to R for increased cursing in later chapters and naughty thoughts… and understand that a relationship between Harry and Severus will take a while to form. Kissing or any other actions probably won't happen for a while. Some of you may think that Snape's too mean in this chapter, but come on guys! Snape is not going to suddenly love Harry. He's not the nicest guy in the world. You know the old saying, "it will get worse before it gets better"? That's how I imagine Snape reacting to being bonded with Harry – he'll dislike him more before he likes him.   _

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 5: The Dreaded Outing and Bad Memories

            Harry mentally cringed as he sat down for breakfast the next day. He could feel the heavy weight of the stares he was receiving from many of the professors; Dumbledore had told the rest of the faculty at dinner last night. He didn't dare look at Snape, who had gone from screaming angry maniac mode to a contemplating, intense mode. He, like the rest of the staff, kept his eyes on Harry for longer than was necessary. It seemed that the question that everyone seemed to be thinking was 'how could _they_ be soul mates?'

            Harry's lowered head jerked up as the Great Hall doors opened. He groaned when he saw Professor Trelawney gliding toward him. 

            "Good morning Sybil," Dumbledore said pleasantly. "It is so nice to see you!"

            "And you, Headmaster." She sighed mistily. Her magnified eyes swept the table and came to a shuddering halt as they saw Harry. 

            "My dear boy," she sighed. "The fates have informed me that your soul has found a mate in Professor Snape!"

            Harry nodded. Professor McGonagall tutted.

            "Ah!" she cried suddenly, bringing the back of her hand to her forehead. "Alas, this predestined union escaped my well trained eye! I am shocked that I did not sense the strong attraction that your souls share for each other sooner." 

            Harry looked stonily back at here. It didn't surprise him one bit. 

            Professor Trelawney shut her eyes, sighing. She held out her arm and wiggled her fingers at Harry, then at Snape. "Aha!" She cried. "There it is now!" A few teachers tittered quietly. 

            Snape stood up. "I wish to be excused." he said curtly. He looked at Dumbledore. "Send for me when you are ready." He threw a quick, emotionless glance at Harry, before turning on his heel and walking quickly from the room.

            "Clearly, my probing of his soul disturbed him." Professor Trelawney whispered, then lowered herself into his vacated seat, and began to eat.

            "I think it disturbed everyone." Professor McGonagall said wryly. Harry smiled to himself as he finished his eggs. At least the mood had been lightened by Professor Trelawney's antics.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Twenty minutes later, Harry was waiting in Dumbledore's office for Professor Snape and Professor Carroll. From what he had gathered from Hermione in third year, Professor Carroll was female, and quite young. She had been a Hufflepuff when she was at school, and was an excellent teacher.  He hoped that she and Snape got along, because Dumbledore wasn't coming on this trip to keep Snape's temper at bay, which was usually tested by being around nice people, who Professor Carroll undoubtedly was. 

            He already knew they were traveling by a portkey, which was lucky because Harry didn't think he could handle another car ride with his new soul mate.

            Harry had tried to dress in his best clothes, so that he didn't look like a complete ragamuffin in London. He had his jeans on of course, with a white, long sleeve t-shirt that he had gotten from Dudley when he was six. It now fit Harry perfectly. Harry looked down at his shirt and smoothed out the wrinkles when he heard approaching footsteps.  The door opened to reveal Professor Snape. Harry gulped. 

            The man was wearing black slacks again, this time with a soft looking blue button up shirt. His hair hung in a loose ponytail, and a few strands in the front framed his face. The usual sneer was in place as he stalked in the room, looking around for the third member of their party. 

            "She's not here yet." Harry said.

            "I can see that, Potter, I'm not blind," he snapped. Harry scowled. 

            "You don't have to talk to me like I'm scum do you?"

            Snape looked down at him, and gave him his best 'I-Think-You-Are Scum' glare. "Well, excuse me Potter. It's rather difficult not to, when you address me with the same scorn in your voice."

            "I do not!" 

            Snape grinned with malice. "Petulance, then." 

            Harry opened his mouth to protest, then shut it quickly. He settled for glaring. 

            Snape raised an amused eyebrow. "See? There you go with that childish sulking." Snape's amused face changed to a nasty scowl, and his voice gained a harshness that Harry hadn't heard since that day in 3rd year when he was caught near the witch statue. "Maybe I wouldn't be so rude to if I wasn't suddenly stuck, against my will I might add, to a foolish, gangly brat who has yet to reach puberty!" 

            Harry gasped. He could feel his face heat up with embarrassment and anger – Harry hated to admit it, but the fact that he wasn't as developed as the rest of the boys in his year was quite a sore spot – one that Snape didn't mind exploiting. There was a faint pricking in the corners of his eyes, and he quickly blinked them away. How could this be? How could he share a soul with his man? It was impossible! Snape's eyes glinted with triumph, and Harry looked away at Fawkes, who was currently sleeping.

            The door slid open again, and Harry looked up to see a kind-faced young woman with straight brown hair enter the room. 

           "Professor Snape," she nodded at him, then turned to look down at Harry. "Hello Harry," she said. She had a gentle, understanding tone, and her honey brown eyes were smiling. "I don't believe we've ever met." She held out her hand and Harry shook it quickly, hoping she wouldn't notice the unshed tears in his eyes. Unfortunately, Professor Carroll was one of those extraordinary people, who were always aware of other people's feelings. 

            "Harry, are you all right?"

            "Oh, it's nothing." Harry smiled embarrassingly and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "Just a bit of dust." He looked up and gave her a close-lipped smile. She nodded, but looked up at Professor Snape with hard, suspicious eyes. Harry didn't look at him, but if he had, he would have seen that Snape wore that same expression when he told him about sleeping in the cupboard.

            "Well then," Professor Carroll said quietly. "Shall we go?" 

            Harry and Snape both nodded. Professor Carroll reached into her pocket and pulled out three hair bands.

            "They all deliver to the same place," she explained. "But Professor Dumbledore wanted us each to have one in case of an emergency." She glanced at Harry as she said this and Harry knew she was talking about Voldemort. "All you have to do is say '_Transportum_' and the portkey will transport you back to this room."   

            She passed out the hair bands, and they each put them on their wrists. Professor Carroll looked at her wristwatch. "Any second now…" The watch beeped. "Right," she said smiling. "See you in London." 

            Harry felt the tug in his stomach, and he was pulled forward, a whooshing sound in his ear. '_Don't think about it, don't think about it…_' The sensation was bringing back snapshots of memories, and Harry shut his eyes tight. It didn't really help. 

            Harry's feet landed, and he fell to the ground. Pain shot through the back of his head. He opened his eyes, expecting to see sunlight and streets, but instead it was dark and he was in a cemetery. '_What?_'  

            A hand reached out for him, and he took it. He was pulled to his feet and he looked up to see Cedric, eyes wide and empty. Harry gasped and let out a low moan. _No please no, not again._

_            "Harry…"_

            "No!" Harry pulled his hand away and fell backwards. This was not happening, this couldn't be happening!

            "Harry!"

            Harry opened his eyes. He was lying on the ground. Snape and Professor Carroll were looking down at him with panicked looks on their faces. Harry blinked and sighed in relief; it hadn't really happened.

            "Harry, are you all right?" the concerned voice of Professor Carroll floated above him. 

            "Of course he's not all right!" Snape snapped. He reached out and hauled Harry up into a sitting position. A wave of nausea hit Harry's stomach and his head hurt. 

            "Wha – what happened?" Harry asked, blinking his eyes to see clearly.

            "You fell. You hit your head on the ground." Professor Carroll said quietly.

            "Oh, I –I was remembering last year…" Harry muttered. "The portkey…at the tournament-" Snape held up a hand to silence him.

            "Of course, Potter. No need to explain." Again, Snape grasped his forearm and hoisted him to his feet.

            "Thanks." Harry muttered, feeling extremely embarrassed. He'd lost it in front of Snape, who, not only didn't like him, but thought he was an undeveloped little boy. Could it get any better? 

            "Are you sure you're all right Harry? We can go back to Hogwarts if you wish." 

            Harry looked up into the woman's kind face and thought it over. Honestly, he wasn't really looking forward to this because of Snape, but on the other hand, he _did want new clothes…_

            "I should be fine," he said. Behind him, Snape groaned. Harry scowled. He'd had enough of this.

            "What's the matter Professor?" Harry asked, looking innocently over his shoulder. "Not feeling up to it? I guess at your age, everything seems so tiring."  

            Snape looked livid. Harry smirked. He couldn't help it; the man deserved it after what he said! Two can play the age game.

            "I assure you, Mr. Potter, I possess an ample quantity of stamina to last though any amount of strenuous activities." The older man said silkily. Professor Carroll coughed. Harry blinked. Was that a suggestive remark? Harry quickly turned to look at Professor Carroll.

            "Well. Off we go then," Professor Carroll had an odd sort of smile n her face, and she led them out of the alleyway into the packed streets of London.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "Here, this one, try on this one!" 

            Harry sighed as he grabbed yet another shirt from the hand poking through the changing room curtain. Once they had actually found a good store, Professor Carroll had transformed into a shopping fanatic. She seemed to think that Harry was some sort of doll that she could dress up and play with.

            "Harry, what do you think of these? Try these!" Her hand passed through a pair of designer jeans. 

Harry sighed again. He hoped another assistant wouldn't yell at them. Earlier, a young lady with a tight blonde bun and thick black glasses had told them quite sternly that only five items of clothing could be in the room at a time. Snape had scared her off with one of his famous 'You-Are-Taking-More-Than-Your-Fair-Share-Of-Oxygen' glares – at least he was good for something.

The changing room he was currently in was spacious with a long mirror for him to observe himself in, and the floor and bench was covered with clothes that had been tried on or were waiting to be tried on. Harry found out quite quickly that he looked – well, pretty darn good. He could pull off any color except bright yellow and orange. Pants looked good on him, baggy or tight. Shorts, t-shirts, sweaters, button-ups, tanks… anything! This was so exciting, how could any body not like shopping?

"Harry! I think you should show Professor Snape those jeans! They're just fabulous!"

Harry blanched. His new found self esteem flew out the window.

"Um…" he said, fidgeting as he looked at his reflection. "I don't think he wants to. No, I know he doesn't want to."

"Of course he does! Don't you professor?"

A grunt. "I beg your pardon?"

"See?!" 

Harry looked in the mirror. A skinny boy in tight jeans and a clingy black sweater looked back at him. No way was he showing Snape! He'd laugh, or sneer, or- 

"Oh c'mon Harry! You look like a supermodel fresh off the run way!" Professor Carroll called through the red curtain. The more they shopped, the younger Professor Carroll seemed to get. 

"No I don't, I look-" Harry never finished his sentence because a hand came flying through the curtain and yanked him out. Harry let out a protesting whine, but it was too late.

Snape was sitting in a chair in front of the changing room, apparently waking up from a doze. He sat up straight as Harry stumbled into view. Harry gulped and immediately felt his face heat up. This was so embarrassing.

Snape raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms and legs as he surveyed Harry. Harry tried not to notice the fact that one of his professors, now his soul mate that also happened to think he was zilch, was looking him over. Harry waited for the brutal comment to come.

"Hmmm." Snape said.

_'What? Oh, not that blasted hmmm again!'_ Harry wrinkled his forehead in distaste. He hated that. Now he wouldn't know what the man thought. 

"Oh come now, Professor, you can say more than that!" Professor Carroll said, smiling. "What do you think of your soul mate? Doesn't' he look simply gorgeous?"

Snape's lip curled. "Quite."

Harry blushed, and looked down at his feet. 

"Great!" Harry was shoved back through the curtain. "Harry, pick everything you like, and I'll get them paid for. Is there anything else you need?"

"Erm…" Harry blushed again. "Well, I need, um, new boxers."

"Oh! Well, I think I'll let Professor Snape help you with that!" 

"That was unnecessary!" Snape's voice said harshly. "Albus made it clear to you all that this was not a romantic partnership!"

"Oh, I know!" Professor Carroll answered. "I just meant, because you're a man."

"….Oh. Of course." 

Harry wanted to crawl into a hole and stay there for the rest of his life. This was beyond embarrassment. This was mortifying. 

TBC

Hey all! How'd you like? This chapter could have been better, but I'm leaving tomorrow for Spring break and the war with Iraq is coming, which is really freaking me out, so it was kind of rushed. 

Hey, has anyone noticed that Snape says "Hmmmm" when he wants to avoid answering a question? Hee hee! Professor Carroll has it right! I certainly wouldn't mind my own Harry doll that I could dress up (and down! ::evil grin::) and play with! And what did you think of Snape? He's being a little meanie isn't he? The part when Harry is not quite crying – the reason Snape has that little contemplative look on his face is because he's wondering how Harry is such a good actor about his emotions, and it disturbs him because he thinks Harry is a little too good at it. 

Yes I think Harry has low self esteem about his looks, which will come into play an awful lot. In the books, people always make comment about how little Harry is, and even though he gets taller in every book, comments are still made, and Harry's a wittle sensitive…Oh I wish I could hug him! 

Ok, serious issue – I wanted to do this whole story in Harry's point of view, just like the books. But I sometimes find myself dying to put the readers into Severus' head – like before. So, what is your opinion on that? Should I just keep to Harry's pretty little head? Or take a turn in Snape's?

The next chapter will be out by March 30th. Give me feedback people! I CAN'T DO THIS WITHOUT YOU!                   


	6. More Shopping and Reunions

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Potter Universe. It all belongs to the amazing J.K. Rowling, who, I might add, is a genius! I only like to force the characters to do things they would never do without the assistance of chemical substances!!!! _

_Pairing: Harry/Severus …. If this freaks you out, then PLEASE don't read any further, I don't really appreciate reviews telling me how sick I am, okay? P.S. Harry is underage, even in the __U.K.__ okay? He's in his 5th year in this fic, but don't worry, it doesn't get really heavy for a while…maybe not ever, because I don't have much confidence in writing naughty scenes like that. -_

_Summary: Harry tries a blood magic potion to better understand his summer potions homework, but mixes up the name with another potion that binds the drinker to his or her most compatible match in ability(not necessarily romantic, for instance, siblings are often bonded). Guess who Harry gets bonded with?_

_Spoilers: All the books, especially the 4th one, so if you haven't read it, well, you'll find out what happens._

_Author's Note: Yes, I know there are several fics out there just like this one, but I just wanted to write my own and maybe get a few nice reviews, so give me a break okay? And I've changed the rating to R for increased cursing in later chapters and naughty thoughts… and understand that a relationship between Harry and Severus will take a while to form. Kissing or any other actions probably won't happen for a while.  _

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 6: More Shopping and Reunions

            Harry trotted behind Professor Snape, mentally coming up with excuses to shop by himself. He _really _didn't want to be sharing what size underwear he wore with Snape, nor did he want to pick out boxers with the man smirking behind him. Harry blushed a deep red when they passed a rack of men's sequined thongs. Snape walked faster.

            "Whenever you see something desirable, tell me Potter. I don't know what it is you're looking for. If you were thinking of something in the brief department, we just passed them." Snape said shortly. He was obviously trying to accomplish this task with as much dignity as possible. Harry wondered whether Snape would have acted this way if they hadn't been soul mates. Knowing Snape, he probably would have taunted him to no end.

            "Um, can we go over there?" Harry pointed to a rack with patterned boxers on hangers. 

            "I'll wait here." Professor Snape said stiffly. 

            Harry nodded thankfully, and walked quickly to the rack, hiding himself between the many hangings. He scanned the boxers that were his size and picked out some basic solid colors and plaids. He blushed when he saw a black satin pair with a red bull's eye over the crotch area. His face almost exploded when his hand brushed another white pair with lip prints and a stem of mistletoe pinned to the front button. Harry tried not to think about what the mistletoe was implying. _Do men actually wear these? _Harry tried to imagine wearing them and failed. An image of Snape wearing them suddenly cropped up in his head and he hastily thought of something else.

            "Find anything of interest, Potter?" Snape's voice was surprisingly close, and Harry spun around, pulling his hand away from the mistletoe boxers. Snape was right behind him with an amused smirk on his face. 

            "You weren't thinking of buying these, now were you, Potter?" Snape asked in an arrogant tone. He reached out in front of Harry and jerked them off the hanger.

            "No! I was just – um, looking for-" he stuttered.

            "I see…" Snape said smoothly, trying not to look too smug and failing. "The Headmaster was correct; your taste in clothes _is_ interesting, I must say."

            Harry blushed. "I told you, I'm not buying them."

            "Oh? Well, in that case I'm free to purchase them."

            "What!?"

            "I'm not serious, Potter." Snape said patronizingly. "You need to learn to recognize a joke when you here one." He said loftily as he hung the boxers back on the rack. 

            Harry stood still as the professor walked away. Professor Snape. Made a joke. Could the world get any madder? 

            Harry, wanting to get out of the store as fast as possible, grabbed random boxers off hangers and dashed back to the cashier. After the snooty woman was finished ringing up his purchases and packaging them, Harry ran off to find Professor Carroll. He had enough shopping for one day.  He found her and Snape waiting for him by a bench outside the store. Professor Carroll led him and Snape to the alley they had come from and they waited for the signal.

            "Will you be alright Harry? Would you like to floo instead?" Professor Carroll asked, concern filling her voice. 

            "No, no; I'll be fine." Harry said quickly. He didn't want them to think he couldn't even use a portkey. Snape gave him a searching look, but Harry ignored it, occupying himself by checking his bags.     

            _Beep Beep_

            Harry braced himself, and tried to relax as he felt the tug in his stomach. His feet were lifted off the ground and he shut his eyes tight, clutching the handles of his bags as though for support. The familiar whooshing sound filled his ears, and he concentrated on blocking it out. He needed to keep his cool. 

            _Whump_

            Harry's feet hit the ground and tumbled over from the weight of his bags.

            "Harry!"

            Harry looked up, blinking, suddenly filled with shocked happiness. Hagrid was standing over him, bending down to lift him off the ground.

           "How've yeh bin, Harry, how've yeh bin?" he asked jovially, lifting Harry clear off the floor by the arm. Harry smiled.

            "Good. And you?" vaguely, Harry heard Snape and Professor Carroll arrive. 

            "Great! Harry, yeh'll never guess who I met on me journey ter the mountains!" Hagrid's grin was wide.

            Harry smiled as well. "Who?"

            "Me mum!" Hagrid was positively beaming by now. Harry's jaw dropped. 

            "You – you did? Well that's great Hagrid!" Harry smiled. Hagrid looked so happy! Harry had to fight the urge to tear up for his friend. 

            "Yeah, she was surprised ter see me, ter say the least." Hagrid's beard twitched with another smile. "She liked Olympe, an' she said she was happy fer me."

            A door creaked open and closed, and they looked over to see Dumbledore walking in. 

            "Hagrid! You're back! Did it go well?" Dumbledore gestured to the seat opposite his desk, and Hagrid sank into it. The chair magically expanded to accommodate him.

            "Well, we didn' ge' as far as we could 'a hoped fer, but we made some progress." Hagrid reported gruffly.

            "Good, good, what progress did you make?" 

            Their conversation seemed private, so Harry backed up to where Professor Carroll and Snape were waiting. Snape opened the door for him, but Dumbledore stopped them. 

            "Severus, Harry, I would like a word with you both before you leave. Thank you, Matilda."

            Professor Carroll nodded, and stepped out of the door.

            Hagrid was looking curiously at them, but didn't say anything. 

            "Severus, Harry; I think you'd both better hear this as well." Dumbledore conjured up two more chairs, and Harry and Snape both sat down. Dumbledore gestured for Hagrid to continue.

            "Olympe an' I met with some o' the head giants. Me mum was one o' 'em."

            "Hagrid, that's wonderful!" Dumbledore exclaimed. Hagrid smiled.

            "Yeah, it was. She wasn' anythin' like what that Skeeter woman made her out ter be." Hagrid looked proud.

            Harry smiled. He was happy for Hagrid; he deserved this. Harry glanced over at Snape. He was shocked to find that Snape was already looking at him. Harry looked quickly back at Hagrid.

            "Anyway, they didn' really wanna get involved, an' ter tell yeh the truth, most of 'em wanted You-Know-Who ter win. But me mum told me she would try ter persuade 'em. She said if it came down ter it, she would leave 'em an' join us… she didn' know me dad had died…. " Hagrid finished. It seemed like there was more to this story, but Hagrid wasn't ready to tell them at the moment. 

            "Well Hagrid, I must thank you," Dumbledore said quietly. "It took great courage to go and find the giants, much less confront them with such a controversial issue." He sounded tired. "Hopefully, they will see reason. Where is Madame Maxime?" 

            "Oh, she wanted ter go back ter her school," Hagrid said. "She said she was gonna try an' get the French Minister o' Magic in this…I hope that's all righ'?"

            Dumbledore looked delighted. "Of course! I'm glad she took the initiative! The French minister was a strong ally before. I hope he will prove helpful this time." Hagrid nodded, glad to have brought the good news. 

              Dumbledore turned his attention to Harry and Snape. "Hagrid, there is something I need to tell you…" Harry's eyes widened. 

            "Last week, Harry arrived. We wanted him here, in case anything came up," Hagrid nodded. "Well, to make a story short, Harry made a potion that found his soul mate. The potion pointed to Severus here." Dumbledore said all this pleasantly, as though announcing the engagement of his daughter. 

            There was silence.

            "He…what?" Hagrid looked completely baffled.

            "Harry made a potion-"

            "He heard you, Albus." Snape sneered. 

            Harry wanted to slide down out of his chair and into the floor. Hagrid turned and looked at Harry.

            "Why would yeh make a potion like that?" his expression was one of disbelief.

            "Well I – er, sort of did it by accident…" Harry muttered.

            Snape sighed loudly. "Albus, I have already heard this pitiful tale, and reliving it will undoubtedly make me ill; may I please be excused?" Harry cringed. 

            "Yes, Severus. You must be tired from the trip, I understand." 

            Snape's back straightened at the jibe. "No, I am not _tired_, Albus, I simply wish to be excused."

            "Of course; I will see you at dinner." Snape stalked out of the office.

            "Harry?" Hagrid said hesitantly. "You made the potion by accident?" Harry nodded. Hagrid looked dumbfounded. "An' Snape's yer soul mate?" Again, Harry nodded. "An' is he, er, bein' nice ter yeh?"

            "Well," Harry said hesitantly. He didn't want to bad mouth Snape in front of Dumbledore. "He was kind of upset before, but he's been okay, I guess." 

            "Righ'" Hagrid said gruffly. "You jus' tell me if he gets hard ter take, an' he'll be hearin' from me, yeh can coun' on it"

            Harry couldn't help but smile. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that night at dinner, Harry sat next to Hagrid and Professor Carroll. It was nice to have someone to talk to again. Dinner was louder than the nights before, mostly because Hagrid was back, but the aura seemed more up beat. This was probably because of the good news Hagrid had brought. Everyone was talking about the possibility of France and the giants helping. From what Harry gathered from the chatter around him, France had helped out the last time Voldemort had been rising. Apparently, they had an excellent Auror Task Force and a famous school for upcoming Aurors.      

            Everyone was also excited about the possibility of the giants as allies. Several of the giants had been against them because of discrimination and prejudice, but Hagrid had reported that most of the giants that had been part of Voldemort's supporters had been killed years ago; all that was left were a few scattered giants who were against wizards in general. The rest of them just wanted to live out their lives in peace. It seemed as though, with the correct methods, the giants would possibly help; Hagrid also reported that the giants had yet to be approached by any Death Eaters or Voldemort. This boosted the morale incredibly. Harry was so swept up in conversation that he totally forgot he even had a soul mate. Everything seemed to be going well.

            The Great Hall doors opened with a bang. Remus Lupin stood in the doorway, a shaggy black dog at his side.    

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Ten minutes later, Harry sat in Dumbledore's office, watching the scene unfold in front of him in a sort of trance. Remus and Sirius had arrived, tattered and torn. Apparently, in Hogsmeade, they had been attacked by a group of unidentified wizards. The wizards weren't wearing Death Eater masks, but Sirius was sure they had been Death Eaters, while Remus said that they shouldn't jump to conclusions without being sure. 

            Harry had already shared hugs with each man, and now sat in front of Dumbledore's desk. Sirius was pacing next to him, while Remus recounted the attack to Dumbledore for the third time. 

            "Yes, we were walking in the street; Sirius was in dog form-"

            "And they didn't say anything?" Dumbledore asked. "Didn't taunt you, just came up and attacked you?"

            "If they were robbers, they would have said things, would have asked for money." Sirius said, running his fingers through his hair distractedly. 

            "But they did take my money bag…" Remus pointed out. "So they could have been robbers."

            "If they were robbers, they wouldn't have attacked you, because I was there," Sirius snapped. "Robbers don't go after people with dogs."

            "Is that a proven fact?" Remus asked skeptically. 

            "Well no-"

            "We have no proof that they were Death Eaters." Dumbledore said tiredly, sitting in his chair. "We don't know if they knew where you were headed or not, or who you were." He began to massage his temples. "All we know is that you were attacked by a group of wizards in Hogsmeade."

            Harry looked down into his lap. This wasn't going well. Sirius was angry, Remus was worried, and Dumbledore was frustrated. He hated to see the aging man upset. It reminded him that he was growing old. 

            Harry heard the door bang open behind him. He turned around to see Snape. 

            _Oh no_

            "Hello Severus." Remus said pleasantly.

            "Lupin." Snape nodded his head curtly. "Black." Snape repeated the action, and kept the sneer on his face to a minimum.

            Sirius said nothing, simply nodding back.

            "Ah, Severus, you might want to hear this as well." Dumbledore said.

            Snape walked over to the second chair in front of Dumbledore's desk that Remus and Sirius had neglected, and sat down. Harry was suddenly feeling very awkward. He sincerely hoped that Dumbledore wouldn't mention the whole soul mate thing. He had a suspicion that Sirius would have a conniption fit if he found out. Harry sat in petrified silence while Remus and Sirius told Snape of the attack. Snape listened carefully, looking deep in thought. Finally, he spoke.

            "How many were there?"

            "I'm not sure, it happened so fast."

            "Approximate then!" Snape snapped. 

            Remus appeared unruffled. "I'd say about…six, wouldn't you say, Sirius?"

            "Sounds about right." 

            "Hmmm." Snape went back to thinking. 

            Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He wanted to know how long Sirius and Remus were staying.

            "Er, Sirius?"

            Sirius stopped pacing to look at Harry. "Yes Harry?'

            "How long are you and, er, Professor Lupin-"

            "Remus, please, Harry." Remus said smiling. Harry smiled back. 

            "How long are you and Remus staying at Hogwarts?"

            Dumbledore stood up. "Actually, that brings me to why I called you here." Remus and Sirius turned to Dumbledore curiously. 

            "I already have Professor Moody here as the current Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I am hoping to start a Dueling class this year." Remus' eyes widened. "I would like you to be the Dueling professor, Remus." 

            Remus looked shocked. A troubled look filled the former professor's eyes. "I – I don't know Headmaster… the parents-"

            "Should be ignored." Dumbledore's ice blue eyes were steely. "If the parents of our pupils are more concerned with the teaching staff than whether or not their children are safe, that's their problem, not yours." he finished firmly. Remus' jaw was slack, and he looked shocked, yet Harry could see the raw emotion in his eyes. 

            "Thank you, Albus." He said, somewhat choked. "You won't be disappointed." 

            "Of course I won't be." Dumbledore turned to Snape. "I am counting on you to make the Wolfsbane potion. I trust you will?"

            Snape nodded. "Yes. Yes, of course." Harry couldn't help but feel a bit proud that Snape hadn't said anything biting yet. It was a weird feeling to have.       

               "Sirius, I would like you to stay as well. Obviously, you can't be a teacher, but you can stay in your dog form as Remus' pet, if you like."

            Sirius nodded gratefully. "Yes, I would like to stay." 

            "Good! That's settled then. Hagrid will be happy to find Buckbeak in his house tonight!" Harry's smile went from ear to ear. "Of course, he will also have to remain a secret…" 

            "Now, Remus, Sirius, I trust you would like to settle in. You will find your room and office on the second floor; it's behind the tapestry of the duelers. Severus, Harry, I would like a word before you go."

            Remus and Sirius said goodbye and left. Dumbledore sat back down and leaned over his desk.

            "You may both have noticed that I did not tell Sirius about the potion." Dumbledore looked sternly over his glasses at them. "I have no doubt that they will both know by lunch time tomorrow. Many of the professors aren't clear on what a secret is," Dumbledore smiled wryly at this. "I advise you to be careful, Severus. When Sirius finds out, I'm sure there will be an explosion. We will meet this hurdle when it comes. I bid you both goodnight." 

            Harry and Snape got up and headed for the door. Snape opened it and let Harry go through first. This seemed strangely kind. They stood in silence on the stairs. Harry, almost desperate for some conversation, broke the silence.

            "So, er, what are you doing tomorrow?" 

            Snape stared down at him, eyebrow raised

            "Erm…okay then..." Harry looked at his shoes.

            "I will be going to Hogsmeade to purchase the ingredients for the Wolfsbane potion."

            "Oh." 

            Snape looked hesitant. Then, "What do you have planned for tomorrow?"

            "Oh, er," Harry was surprised Snape was continuing the conversation. "I haven't really thought about it. Do homework, I guess."

            Snape nodded, then looked back up. They were almost at the bottom of the stairs. Snape inhaled a deep breath. 

            "If you don't have anything major planned, would you consider joining me?"

            "Huh?" the stupefied exclamation was out of Harry's mouth before he could stop it.

            Snape sneered. "Never mind."

            "No! I mean – er – I'd like to, um, go with you… if that's okay?" Harry couldn't believe he'd just said that. 

            Snape smiled. Well, almost. His eyes didn't look as empty as usual anyway, and his sneer wasn't as pronounced. 

            "Are you sure, Potter? It will be boring. Undoubtedly educational, as well." Snape smirked at that. Harry wondered if that was another joke.

            "No. I'll go." Harry was almost determined to show Snape that he was mature enough to spend a day on potions. They'd reached the bottom of the stairs. They stepped off the moving stairs and walked through the sliding wall. 

            "Well, goodnight I guess…see you tomorrow."

            "Goodnight Potter." Snape immediately stalked away.

            Harry stood there for a few more seconds. What had he gotten himself into?      

TBC

So, did you like? Next chapter will be out by April 4th. I almost didn't make this deadline! School is really heaping it on lately. This chapter didn't really have a lot of Harry/Severus action, but trust me, the next chapter will! I've already done outlines of the next few chapters, and I have the first kiss planned! It will be in the Christmas chapter! Aren't you all excited!? But hold on, we still have Harry's birthday, Sirius' reaction, august, school reopening, Thanksgiving, and class room banter! It takes a long time for a Harry/Severus relationship to start! Give the poor men some time! You all may have also noticed the development of the Voldemort plot. You can't have a story in Harry's fifth year without Voldemort! Oh yeah, I will write some of this story in Severus' perspective, but only when I feel it's absolutely necessary, because I want to keep this as close to the format of the books as possible, and it's also great leave people in the dark about what that sexy bastard is thinking! SO REVIEW AND GIVE ME YOUR THOUGHTS!!!!!            


	7. The Second Outing and Reactions

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Potter Universe. It all belongs to the amazing J.K. Rowling, who, I might add, is a genius! I only like to force the characters to do things they would never do without the assistance of chemical substances!!!! _

_Pairing: Harry/Severus …. If this freaks you out, then PLEASE don't read any further, I don't really appreciate reviews telling me how sick I am, okay? P.S. Harry is underage, even in the __U.K.__ okay? He's in his 5th year in this fic, but don't worry, it doesn't get really heavy for a while…maybe not ever, because I don't have much confidence in writing naughty scenes like that. -_

_Summary: Harry tries a blood magic potion to better understand his summer potions homework, but mixes up the name with another potion that binds the drinker to his or her most compatible match in ability(not necessarily romantic, for instance, siblings are often bonded). Guess who Harry gets bonded with?_

_Spoilers: All the books, especially the 4th one, so if you haven't read it, well, you'll find out what happens._

_Author's Note: Yes, I know there are several fics out there just like this one, but I just wanted to write my own and maybe get a few nice reviews, so give me a break okay? And I've changed the rating to R for increased cursing in later chapters and naughty thoughts… and understand that a relationship between Harry and Severus will take a while to form. Kissing or any other actions probably won't happen for a while. _

_P.S. Harry is still being naïve, and hasn't admitted to himself that he likes Sev, and probably won't for awhile; he doesn't see this as a "date" but as a friendly outing…poor Sev ^-^ _

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 7: The Second Outing & Reactions

Harry awoke early the next morning, intent on eating breakfast and leaving for Hogsmeade before Sirius woke up. He had no doubt that Dumbledore was right; Sirius would know that he was bonded to Snape before lunch time.

After a rushed shower, Harry pulled on a new pair of jeans and a new, moss green shirt, then hurried to the Great Hall. Checking his watch, he saw that it was 7:30; Sirius wouldn't be up yet. 

Snape was already seated, eating scrambled eggs. He obviously had been thinking along the same lines as Harry. Harry paused before entering, taking time to straighten his shirt and flatten his hair. He then strode purposefully in, sat in the chair across from Snape, and immediately reached for the toast and syrup.

Snape watched with scrutinizing eyes as Harry turned the syrup pitcher nearly upside down, and his lip curled when Harry made an approving sound.

"I'd hardly call that a nutritious breakfast, Potter," he said, sneering.

"I eat this every day," Harry said defensively, concentrating on picking up the toast without spilling the syrup. 

"Hmmm. No wonder you're so skinny." Snape said loftily, sipping tea.

Harry frowned, but was suddenly distracted by a whole appearing in the middle of the toast from all the syrup. Harry made a distressed sound, before holding the toast over his mouth and catching the syrup. He put the toast down when he was done, and licked his fingers. 

"Disgusting."

Harry rolled his eyes and continued to eat. Soon he had finished, and drank his orange juice in one gulp. Snape was still eating his eggs.

"You're finished?" An eyebrow rose skeptically.

"Yeah."

Snape's eyebrows rose even higher. "Eat something else, you'll get hungry."

Harry narrowed his eyes. "I don't want anything else. I'm finished."

"Well, don't complain later." Snape snapped. "I'm not going to stop for you if you get hungry."

Harry glared. Grouch. Thinking logically, it probably would have been wise to eat more, but then, that would give Snape the satisfaction of being right…Harry didn't think he could stand that smug look on his teacher's face. He sat back in his chair, and waited for Snape to finish defiantly. Snape seemed to take longer than was necessary to chew.

Harry crossed his arms and legs impatiently. "Do you _want Sirius to find you?"_

Snape ate slightly faster after that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twenty minutes later found Harry and Snape walking down the main street in Hogsmeade. As they walked, Harry observed a surly looking man dressed in all black robes and a hat, hunching over next to an alley. A disturbing thought suddenly occurred to Harry.

"Professor? Should we be here if Remus and Sirius were attacked yesterday?"

"Last night," Snape corrected. "People shop during the day; no one will attack us in front of people," Snape said curtly. Harry nodded, but couldn't help but glance back at the black-robed man. He was watching them. Harry walked a little faster to keep up with Snape's long strides. He still didn't feel right. 

"But, if they were Death Eaters, would they care if it was night or not?"

Snape let out an annoyed sigh. "Leave it, Potter."

"But-"

Snape stopped and looked down at Harry. "I suppose if I don't give my honest opinion, you'll continue to prattle on about nothing?" Snape sneered. Harry gulped, but nodded.

"Honestly Potter, I do not think your godfather and Lupin were attacked by Death Eaters. There are plenty of wizards who are scoundrels and such and not every criminal on the street is an evil wizard. _I'm_ not a nice person, but _I'm_ not an evil wizard."

Harry looked to the side so that Snape couldn't see his eyes roll. 

"I saw that." Snape started walking again and Harry had to run to catch up. He hoped Snape wasn't mad. That was all he needed; Snape to be mad while they shopped. Shopping with Snape was bad enough without the man being cranky. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus grumbled to himself. The simple action of rolling one's eyes was stinging. He _wasn't _an evil wizard. He had just made some really bad choices in his youth; that was all. Severus growled when he heard Potter rush to catch up, and resisted the urge to trip him. The boy was like a goddamned shadow. Worse than a shadow; a soul mate. God it was degrading. The worst part was that soon, they would be bonded; Albus would make sure of that. Then, he would be stuck with the brat for the rest. Of. His. Life. The rest of his life! No matter what, he was now trapped in a life with the son of a man that he had despised. Potter was no different from his father. No different. Just a waste of magic, too wrapped up in his fame and quidditch –

"Um, Professor?"

"What?" Severus snapped, angry that his rant was interrupted.

Potter shuffled his feet. "We passed the store."

Snape growled, then turned around and retraced his steps back to the apothecary. Damn the boy. God, damn it _all! _

Severus stalked into the store, shutting the door behind him. He heard the boy open it and follow him. Curses. Hopefully, he would lose him amongst the barrels of frog's eyes and hanging bunches of knotgrass, then he could sneak off and leave him there…

"Professor?"

"What now, Potter?"

"Erm, the lady wanted to know what you wanted…"

Severus turned to see a tiny old witch with huge protective goggles on, looking at him expectantly. She must have been new; Snape had never seen her before. 

"Excuse me. I can find every thing for myself, thank you." The witch narrowed her eyes doubtfully, but walked away. 

Snape gave her retreating form a sneer, then turned and swept down an aisle marked "dried plants". Potter followed him like a lost puppy, practically treading on the back of his robes. 

"Potter, look for dried moon flower, and make sure it was picked on the new moon." Anything to get the boy away.

"How will I know if it was picked on the new moon?"

Severus sighed. "The tip of the root will be white."

Potter wrinkled his nose at his condescending tone, but turned and walked down the aisle in search of moon flower. 

"How much do you want?"

Blast! The boy had found it already?

"Twenty stalks," he said resentfully. Severus quickly turned into another aisle in search of freshly picked Wolfsbane, a dark green plant with sharp, purple edges. Where the hell was it? They had moved things around since the last time he'd been here. The apothecary in Diagon Alley was much better than this one, even if it was more expensive. 

"Professor?" 

God! Severus took several deep breathes before turning to face the brat. 

"What NOW, Potter?" 

The boy leaned back. "I – er, found the Wolfsbane."

Severus' eyes widened. Potter was holding twenty stalks of moonflower and five bunches of the raggedy weed.

"How did you know how many to get?" he asked, reaching for the plants.

"I looked up all the ingredients last night. You only need one stalk of moonflower to make a serving of the potion, and you only need one stalk of Wolfsbane, and there are four stalks in each bunch, so…I figured you'd need five if you need twenty servings…" Potter said quietly.

Severus raised an eyebrow. Even though he would never admit it, he was impressed that the boy had taken the initiative to research the potion. 

"Hmmm." 

Potter smiled and shook his head. Now _that was worrisome. Severus turned on his heel and swept off in search of werewolf's milk._

A half an hour later, Severus was waking out of the apothecary with his purchases, Potter at his side. He had given the boy the gallon of werewolf's milk in hopes that the boy would get tired and complain from the weight, but so far, Potter had not. He seemed determined to not bother Severus. This was very discouraging. 

"Oh. It's him again." Severus was jerked out of his thoughts by Potter's worried voice. He looked down to see the boy looking to the right with a wary look on his face. Severus looked up. There was a man watching them. Or rather, a man watching Potter. 

"Again?" Severus asked.

Potter was looking straight ahead, trying to ignore the staring man. "He was watching us before…. He looks…like he could be dangerous."

Severus snorted. "He's probably just recognizing you." 

"Oh." The boy sounded as though he hadn't thought of that. "Right," He didn't sound convinced. 

Severus looked over at the man. They were passing him now. He was dressed completely in black, but then, so was Severus, so that wasn't saying much. His face was very ruddy, and his hair un-kept. He looked like a drunk. Severus' eyes narrowed. He didn't like the way the man was looking at Harry – Potter. It was a hungry, lustful look. 

"Walk faster." Severus muttered. The boy did so without hesitation. Potter didn't need that sort of attention. Severus gave the man a glare worthy of the fires of hell, and walked behind Potter protectively.

Shortly after, Severus and Harry were walking through the main entrance of Hogwarts. It was a little after lunch, and they were both hungry, but neither was willing to brave the Great Hall. Severus cleared his throat. He was about to cross a line that, once crossed, he would never be able to go back.

"Potter. Would you like to join me in my office?" The boy's eyes widened in surprise. "It's just that, I don't want Black to find us any sooner than he must and – we need to put the, ah – the ingredients away." Right the ingredients, yes that was it. 

Potter looked hesitant. His eyebrows drew together in thought. Finally, "Okay." 

Inwardly, Severus sighed with relief. He didn't know what he would have done if Potter had said no. He would have looked like a fool for asking, and if Black had been eating in the Great Hall…. Severus and Potter walked quickly down the stairs. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry was surprised that Snape had asked him to his office. He had been there twice before, and both times he had been in serious trouble. Harry hoped this experience would be better than the last. Snape muttered a spell that unlocked the door, then ushered Harry in and shut the door quickly, locking it. Harry wondered why he didn't feel awkward. He supposed it had something to do with Snape being his soul mate… and after shopping twice with Snape, and driving with him, Snape seemed…more human, more approachable. He wasn't scared of him anymore. 

"Put that jug in the back room, Potter. It's unlocked." 

Harry carried the jug of werewolf's milk over to a big, grey door. He pushed it open, and stepped inside. The door closed behind him. 

The room was as large as Snape's office, and freezing. It was obviously a magically chilled room that took the place of a muggle refrigerator. There were millions of jars and containers lining the walls. Harry found an empty space near the door and set down the jug, rubbing his hands together to get feeling back into them. He took one last look around the room, before turning and pushing the door open again. 

When he reentered the room, there was a pitcher of iced pumpkin juice, two tumblers, and a large plate with chicken sandwiches. Snape was already eating a shepherd's pie. 

"I didn't know what you wanted; this is what the house elves sent up." 

"That's fine." Harry sat down and reached for a sandwich. Snape didn't say anything for a while. The silence wasn't awkward. It was – not exactly comfortable, but not bad. 

"So," Snape suddenly said. "That man – I'm sure you know that many famous people have stalkers, Potter."

Harry gaped and dropped his sandwich. "He's a stalker?"

"Well, no." Snape paused to think about how to phrase his idea. "But many people get rather – unfriendly, if they see someone famous. Especially if the person is younger, or physically weaker than them." 

"What, they get jealous?"

"No, not necessarily," Snape said. 

Harry didn't really understand. 

Snape suddenly smirked. "In a way, the Dark Lord is like that with you. An amusing thought, to say the least." 

Harry smiled dryly. It was kind of ironic. Voldemort was obsessed with him, in an odd way. 

"I suppose a better way to put it would be, they want to be you, or they want to physically establish their domination of you. In other words, kill you like Voldemort, or hurt you, like that man." 

"You think he wanted to hurt me?" Harry gasped.

"I don't know, but he wanted to do something to you." Snape muttered. He looked slightly disturbed over something. Harry couldn't figure it out. 

BANG. Someone was knocking on the door. 

"SNAPE!" 

Snape and Harry stared at the door, looks of identical horror on their faces.

"OPEN UP! IS HARRY WITH YOU? I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE, YOU –"

"Sirius! Please, control yourself!" McGonagall's stern voice floated trough the door.

"Severus," That was Dumbledore's voice. "Could you and Harry join us in my office? I believe a little chat is in order." There was an amused tone in the Headmaster's voice. 

"DAMN RIGHT A LITTLE CHAT IS IN ORDER! DID YOU HEAR THAT, YOU SLIMY GIT?"

"I heard you, Black!" Snape roared back through the door. "Come, Potter." Harry stood up shakily. The last time Sirius was this angry was when he had been itching to kill Pettigrew. Harry hoped he wasn't about to kill Snape. Not that he liked being soul mates with Snape or anything, but he wasn't that bad.

Snape opened the door cautiously. Harry saw Dumbledore and McGonagall waiting for them, McGonagall looking serious and Dumbledore looking pleased. Remus was restraining a seething Sirius. 

"Harry!" he shouted. He wrenched his arms free from Sirius and pulled Harry to him. "Are you all right? Did he hurt you?"

"No!" Harry pulled away and stumbled back to Snape. Sirius was being ridiculous! 

"Even though you refuse to believe it, Black, I am _not a killer." Snape snarled. "__You on the other hand –"_

"That is enough!" Dumbledore had finally stepped in. "Now, as I said before, may we please continue this in my office. Sirius, you deserve the whole story. If you would like to hear it, come to my office. _Without past grudges." _

Sirius continued to glare. "Fine. For Harry's sake." He put a hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry shrugged it off. Sirius looked at him, surprised, and shocked when Harry took a step towards Snape. Snape smirked. Sirius growled, but stopped when Remus put a hand on his arm.

"You'd think it'd be the werewolf who would be hard to control." Snape said snidely. Harry glared at him. Snape noticed his look, sneered at them all, then followed Dumbledore and McGonagall up the stairs. Harry followed behind him, and Sirius and Remus brought up the rear.

When they reached the office, Dumbledore sat behind his desk and conjured five chairs. Harry sank into a chair, and Snape slouched in his and rubbed his temples. Sirius, however, remained standing. 

"Now will someone please explain what is going on here?" He looked like he was on the brink of a cliff, and once he fell off, he would explode. 

"Harry? Perhaps you should be the one to tell him." Dumbledore said calmly.

"Yes, do tell, since you're the cause of this mess." Snape sneered. 

Harry frowned. That hurt. He and Snape had been getting along okay! He was back to the old Snape again. Harry looked cautiously at Sirius, who was looking uneasy. Harry looked at his lap and began to tell him what happened.

"Well, for our potions homework, we had to research potions with human blood as the main ingredient, and research the properties of human blood. We could get extra credit if we conducted an experiment that involved blood, so I did, but I didn't realize what potion I was making," he said all this very fast. 

Sirius sank into his chair. "What do you mean you didn't know what potion you were making?" his voice was of a quiet, desperate tone.

Harry swallowed. This was the part he was dreading. "The recipe was, er, entirely in Latin. The potion was called Comperio Animus, so I thought it had to do with animals –"

"Oh my God." Sirius held his face in his hand.

"I'm sorry." Harry finished.

"Oh my God!" Sirius leapt from his chair. "Harry, do you realize how stupid that was? I thought you knew better than that! You made a potion that you didn't know anything about? For fuck's sake Harry!" Harry shrank back in his chair. Sirius was shouting now.

"Harry, that was – that was the most irresponsible thing you have ever done, and you've done a lot of things! I can't believe this!" 

Harry shifted in his chair, tuning out Sirius' words. This was worse than anything Snape had ever said about the potion. Sirius was the closest thing he had to a real father, and he was calling him stupid. It hurt a lot.

"I think that's enough, Sirius." Dumbledore said quietly. Sirius stopped shouting. "Harry has heard this speech from Severus already, and I'm sure he has told himself this many times. What is needed from you, Sirius, is calm understanding, someone that Harry can depend on if things get hard to handle." Sirius looked ashamed and looked over at Harry, whose head was bent, staring at the floor. Sirius walked over and knelt down next to his chair. Harry looked up. His eyes were wet.

"Harry, I'm sorry." Sirius whispered. "I shouldn't have said those things."

"No." Harry said roughly. "You're right, I was stupid." 

Snape leaned closer to them trying to hear what was being said. 

"Look Harry, I don't like this one bit, and I don't understand how that potion paired you with Snape. You two are far from soul mates. I still think there was a mistake. Remus and I will do everything we can to fix this okay?" Harry nodded, although he doubted they would find anything. "Good. Come here," Sirius held out his arms, and Harry hugged him tightly. 

Across the room, Snape scowled and looked away. 

TBC

So did you like? Poor Sev at the end, I just want to comfort him! Sometimes, I REALLY get fed up with FF.net. They wouldn't let me update, I'm so sorry! Something about Microsoft XP not working….screw them. For future notice, a new chapter will come out every SUNDAY, April 13th this time (HOPEFULLY). Some times I may have it up sooner if school will allow, but most likely not, they're really piling it on lately. Hope you liked the peak into Sev's head! Anyway, REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

P.S. Harry hasn't had any romantic thoughts about Sev, and Severus hasn't had any romantic thoughts about Harry yet, but there were little clues throughout this chapter that show that it could happen soon. Everything, including the invitation to Snape's office, were considered innocent in their minds (So far... *evil grin*). 


	8. The Party

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Potter Universe. It all belongs to the amazing J.K. Rowling, who, I might add, is a genius! I only like to force the characters to do things they would never do without the assistance of chemical substances!!!! _

_Pairing: Harry/Severus …. If this freaks you out, then PLEASE don't read any further, I don't really appreciate reviews telling me how sick I am, okay? P.S. Harry is underage, even in the __U.K.__ okay? He's in his 5th year in this fic, but don't worry, it doesn't get really heavy for a while…maybe not ever, because I don't have much confidence in writing naughty scenes like that. -_

_Summary: Harry tries a blood magic potion to better understand his summer potions homework, but mixes up the name with another potion that binds the drinker to his or her most compatible match in ability – a soul mate, if you will(not necessarily romantic, for instance, siblings are often bonded). Guess who Harry gets bonded with?_

_Spoilers: All the books, especially the 4th one, so if you haven't read it, well, you'll find out what happens._

_Author's Note: Yes, I know there are several fics out there just like this one, but I just wanted to write my own and maybe get a few nice reviews, so give me a break okay? And I've changed the rating to R for increased cursing in later chapters and naughty thoughts… and understand that a relationship between Harry and Severus will take a while to form. Kissing or any other actions probably won't happen for a while._

_P.S. I found a way to solve the present question! You'll see! And Remus is more involved as well! There will also be a peek into Remus' head! Hee hee! It's longer too!_

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Chapter 8: The Party

            Severus Snape sat slouched in his arm chair in front of the roaring fire. The flames cast dancing shadows on the high stone walls. He was in his private chambers, clutching a glass of scotch in one hand and staring, unseeingly, into the flames. The clock on his mantel piece struck midnight. Severus let out a deep sigh and rested his head on the back of his chair, trying to quiet the whirlwind that was his mind, although the alcohol was slowly doing the job for him. 

            The meeting between Black and Potter had caused unexpected feelings in Severus, feelings that had no right to be there. Black's words had been almost exactly what Severus told himself every night, that there had been a mistake in the potion and that he and Potter couldn't possibly be soul mates. It shouldn't have bothered him that Black had said the same thing out loud. But it had. 

            Severus groaned and set down the glass. He rubbed his eyes, then stood up and stretched. It was time to go to sleep and not think. Severus snorted to himself; there was never a time when he was not thinking about his new problem. Being bound to a boy less than half his age was an often topic on his brain. He scowled heavily as he walked into his bathroom, remembering what Albus had said: _…I'd rather wait to tell him until you are both more amendable to the idea…. _Severus glared at his reflection in the small mirror above the sink as he angrily turned the tap. He still stuck by what he had said before. He would NEVER be amendable to the idea.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Early the next morning, Severus was sitting in the Great Hall, hunched over his breakfast, eating mechanically. When he had sat down that morning, he remembered that Potter had shown up a few times before when he had been eating. A tiny part of him wondered if he would today. So far, he had not. No doubt Black had him cooped up somewhere, protecting him from the big bad Snape. This shouldn't have bothered him; the more the boy was away from him the better…Severus' lip curled, and he twisted his fork into a hunk of egg, imagining it to be Black's meddlesome head. 

            "Severus! Good morning!" 

            The Potions Master groaned at the Headmaster's cheerful greeting. The man's voice buzzed with energy, and he reminded Severus of an annoying fly. 

            "You're up early!" The man pulled out a chair with surprising force for a man his age, and sat down next to Severus. 

            "I always eat at this time, Headmaster." He drawled exasperatedly.

            "Do you really, Severus? I hadn't noticed!" Albus speared a particularly fat sausage on the end of his fork and bit into it enthusiastically. Severus suddenly felt very claustrophobic with the man sitting next to him. 

            "Is there a reason that _you_ are eating so early?" Severus spat. Why the hell was the old man invading his private breakfast? Bugger the man not noticing when he ate breakfast! The man noticed everything, there had to be a reason for this most unpleasant interruption.

            "Actually Severus, I wanted a word with you."

            Severus rolled his eyes. Imagine that.         

            "As you know, Harry's birthday is today," the headmaster began.

            Severus suddenly sat still in his chair. No, he had not known that, and by the tone in the headmaster's voice, he was about to become thoroughly roped into something distasteful. 

            "I thought that you would like to join Sirius, Remus, Hagrid, and myself in planning his surprise party."

            Severus turned and looked Dumbledore straight in the eye. "What makes you think I would like to do something like that?"

            The Headmaster ignored the other man's tone. "Well, I believe that Harry would be happy if everyone that meant something to him were present. Now that you are his soul mate, I think it is only fitting that you attend."

            Severus sneered. "Fitting indeed. He does not want me to be a part of his life, Albus. We do not mean anything to each other except a headache! Surely he made that quite clear last night, what with all of that drama he and Black put on."

            Albus sighed. "Severus, you need to give Harry a chance. I understand that this is hard on both of you, and that you've been bound for only a week, but remember this: you have been soul mates your whole lives. You just weren't aware of it." Albus finished, giving Severus that famous searching look.

            Severus couldn't think of a retort, so he settled for glaring.

            "Good!" Albus clapped his hands together. "Now that that's taken care of, all that's left is the matter of a gift –"

            Severus snapped out of his glare. "What?!" 

            Albus looked at him, eyes wide and innocent behind his glasses. "A gift, a present. The customs of a birthday party includes giving a gift, do they not?  

            Severus mouthed wordlessly, apparently too appalled to speak.

            "So, I suggest you make a trip to Hogsmeade and purchase a nice, simple gift for Harry. Now, if I understand correctly, you and Harry don't know each other very well, so I suggest you get something Quidditch related, something that won't seem awkward. Remember, Sirius will be there." Albus' beard twitched with a smile. Severus gaped at Albus. 

            "I – I don't think –" 

            "Nonsense, Severus!" Albus stood up.

            "But I –"

            "Severus, all I'm asking is for you to simply toddle up to Hogsmeade and buy the boy a gift, I'm not asking much!" Albus was struggling not to laugh. 

            "There will _be_ no toddling!" Severus roared desperately, standing up.

            "Goodbye Severus!" Albus strolled out of the Great Hall, waving merrily behind him.  

            "Argh!" Severus sunk back into is chair, rubbing is temples vigorously. This was a horrible situation. This must be a dream, this whole thing… or else he'd finally cracked. Yes, that was it. He was truly insane and currently at Saint Mungo's and none of this was really happening.

            "Good morning, Severus." Ah. The werewolf is here.

            "Good morning indeed," he groaned, pushing his plate away.

            Lupin sat down in the chair Dumbledore had left.

            "I assume you know about the party?"

            Severus moved one hand to his face, covering his eyes. "Unfortunately."

            Lupin was pouring himself some tea. "Dumbledore told you it was a surprise, right?"

            Severus sighed. "Yes Lupin, he told me. I must purchase a gift as well."

            Lupin laughed lightly. "You sound enthusiastic."

            Severus put his hands out in front of him, and pushed himself up from the table. "Quite," he sneered.

            Lupin was chewing a biscuit thoughtfully. "I can help you if you'd like." 

            "I'm sure I can manage." Severus said stiffly.

            "Well, if you change your mind, I'll be in my new office." Lupin's voice seemed to jingle when he said this. He was obviously pleased about his new position. 

            Severus was about to go, when he thought of something. "Lupin, where are Black and Potter?"

            "Harry, Severus." Lupin was looking at him sternly. "You're soul mates, you should get used to calling him by his name." 

            Severus' jaw clenched, and his hands were balled into fists. He was sick of people telling him how to handle this. How would they like it if they were suddenly bound to an obnoxious brat who couldn't even eat toast properly?!

            Lupin's expression changed, sensing Severus' discomfort. Was that pity? "They're on the Quidditch field." He said quietly. 

            Severus nodded curtly, and turned on his heel.

            "Severus, wait!" Severus growled. He really didn't want to talk about it anymore. 

            He turned to see Lupin stand up and walk up to him. Severus was taller than Lupin by about two inches, and he used this difference to glare menacingly down at him. Lupin appeared unshaken. 

            Lupin took a deep breath. "Severus, I just want you to know…" Severus raised an eyebrow. Lupin was acting too serious for his liking. "I just want you to know that I don't think the potion made a mistake," Severus' eyes widened. "And if you want, I'll talk to Harry, or Sirius –"

            Severus held up a hand to stop him. "That won't be necessary, thank you."

            Lupin nodded. "Okay. But remember my offer. And if you want, I'll help you buy a gift for Harry." 

            Severus stared at Lupin. This could be a way out…. "I am quite busy today, you know." Severus began. "The full moon is coming soon, and I need to get started on…" he trailed off, not wanting to ruin anything. This was practically the first time he and Lupin had gotten along. Severus would never admit it, but having someone in the castle besides Dumbledore who didn't shiver at the sight of him was nice. 

            "Well, maybe I can just get it for you." Lupin said agreeably. "You can stay here, and I'll get the gift. I have to pick up decorations anyway; that's my job. Sirius has to distract Harry while we set up." Lupin's eyes glowed with excitement. "This is going to be a great party." 

            "Hmmm."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Remus Lupin walked into Zonko's Joke Shop, humming to himself. He now had the task of buying decorations _and_ a gift for Harry from Severus; Remus had already purchased his own gift, a luxury calligraphy set, complete with inks, stationary, and quills. To find a gift from Severus would be interesting. Remus grinned. 

            Remus strode down an aisle marked 'wacky party decorations'. There were flashing streamers, confetti tubes, wizard crackers, and all sorts of things. He shifted through a box of funny table placement cards and settled on the ones with flying snitches zooming around the box where you wrote the name. The description on the back of the packet said that the card was enchanted to make the name flash gold. That sounded nice. Remus set the packet in his shopping basket. He also picked matching napkins and a table center piece made up of golden roses that sang 'Happy Birthday' on command. Now for wall decorations! Remus had to debate on whether to get the giant balloons that lifted you off of the ground or the balloons that twirled and floated in formation patterns. In the end, he picked the twirling ones, deciding that the others might be unsafe. He also picked light blue sparkling streamers to hang on the walls, and tubes of silver confetti stars. Checking his list, he saw that he was done; the House Elves could set the table with plates and the like, and would be making the cake, and they possessed an array of tablecloths unmatched by any other. Remus stuffed some last minute wizard crackers into his basket before walking up to the cashier. Now for the gift!

            After deciding that Zonko's was not a place that Severus would shop, Remus stepped out into the sunny streets of Hogsmeade. He looked up and down the street, scanning for a store that looked Severus-ish. He had to think like the grouchy potions master. Remus grinned. His eyes stopped on a book store. Would Severus buy Harry a book? Yes, Remus thought; he probably would. That was why Remus deliberately did not go into the bookstore. Severus had given him the task of buying Harry a meaningful, thoughtful gift, and that was what Remus was going to do. He grinned to himself; Severus owed him one. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Severus scowled as he walked to the Great Hall. It was six o'clock in the evening, and Potter and Black were due to come back from god knows where any moment. He had just received a call from Albus through his fireplace to hurry to the Great Hall, and he was on his way. 

            When he entered the Hall, he was shocked to see almost every professor in the school there. They were all buzzing around with excited looks on their faces, complementing the decorations and massive cake in the middle of the table. Lupin and McGonagall were running around straightening placement cards and smoothing out the table cloth, while Hagrid was hanging last minute streamers around the walls. Professor Flitwick was levitating balloons to their designated places above the table, and Albus was testing the punch. The old man was wearing sparkling light blue robes with gold trimming to match the decorations, and a tall hat with a snitch hanging off the tip. Severus felt suddenly plain as he looked at his own black robes. It was an odd feeling; he had never felt self-conscious about what he was wearing before. He was pulled back to earth by the sharp tone of Professor McGonagall.

            "Come, come, stand here everyone, they'll be here any moment! Yes, put your gifts here on this table." There was a stampede of professors rushing to put their gifts on the tiny circular table. Professor McGonagall noticed that Severus did not join the others and stared at him shrewdly.

            "Did you get Mr. Potter a gift?"

            "Oh," Severus glanced at Lupin, who nodded and pointed discreetly to a lumpy, silver wrapped package. "Yes, I put it down already."   

            "Right," She turned away from him. "Everyone, let's stand here," she motioned to a spot facing the doors. "Now, when they come in, we all will shout 'surprise!' and I will light the candles." McGonagall pressed her lips together. Obviously, planning a raucous surprise party was not the sort of thing she did very often. Severus joined the mass of teachers and stood next to Lupin. Professor McGonagall waved her wand and the candles flickered and died. The Hall was filled with excited whispering. 

            "What did you get him?" Severus hissed to Lupin.

            "I got him a calligraphy set."

            "No, I mean what did you get him for me?" Severus growled.

            "Oh," Severus could almost see Lupin's mischievous smile. "You'll see."

            "Lupin –"

            "Shhh! I hear them!" someone whispered. Everyone was silent. They could hear two sets of footsteps, and a pair of voices.

            "Sirius, are you sure you don't want to go back and rest for a bit? You look tired."

            "I'm fine, Harry, I'm fine." Black's voice was full of barely contained excitement. 

            "Okay," said the boy's voice doubtfully. 

            The door pushed open. Severus saw the outline of the pair, one tall and one short. 

            "Why is it so dark?"

            Suddenly, light filled the room, and confetti poured from the ceiling.

            "SURPRISE!"

            Severus mentally kicked himself. He had missed the surprise.

            Potter was standing still, mouth slightly open. He didn't have the look of absolute rapture that Severus had imagined. In fact, he looked quite distressed. He looked up, confused, at Black, who was smiling warmly.

            "Go on." He said.

            Potter turned and walked shakily to the table, eyes wide and curious, looking around at the decorations and the smiling faces.                  

            "Happy Birthday, Harry." Albus said kindly, his eyes twinkling. Severus was still confused. Why did the boy look troubled? Was he ungrateful? Severus snorted to himself; he wouldn't doubt that. 

            "Thank you," Potter said quietly. He was blinking rather rapidly. Everyone parted so that he could see the table. Hagrid shifted and the boy caught sight of the cake. His eyes widened, and he allowed Lupin to steer him into a seat at the middle of the table. He sat down and looked at his place name. His mouth was turning up at the edges, and he looked at over at everyone, who was watching avidly. 

            "Thank you," he said again, this time with a little more strength. Everyone nodded and began to look for their seats. Was it just the candles reflecting off of the boy's eyes, or were they wet? Severus suddenly felt Lupin's hand on his back, leading him to a chair. His eyes widened as he saw his place name. He was to be seated right next to Potter! Oh no, oh no, oh…

            "Harry!" Severus looked over to see Black pull out the seat on the other side of the boy and sit down. "What do you think?"

            The boy set his place name down and swallowed. "It's wonderful, Sirius." 

            "Really?" Black sighed in relief. "You had me worried for a second; I thought you didn't like it."

            "No!" Potter said quickly. "No, I – I love it, thank you."   

            Severus tried to sit down unnoticed. 

            "Snape?" Black said incredulously. "Why are you sitting there?"

            Severus threw him a sneer. "I am sitting here because this little contraption," Severus picked up the card with the whizzing snitch and waved it at Black. "says I am to be seated here." Severus glanced at Potter, who was looking nervous.

            "Who the hell made the seating arrangements?" Black muttered, glaring at Severus. The potions master glared back.

            "I did." Both men turned in shock as Remus Lupin sat down next to Severus.

            "Remus?" Black's mouth was hanging open. Severus suddenly felt very uncomfortable. Not only had Lupin helped him out with the gift, but now he was sticking up for him against Black. This could turn very ugly.

            "Remus, why are you sitting there?" Black asked carefully. 

            "Because I am. Let's eat." Lupin said shortly. Serving plates filled with food suddenly appeared. Severus hoped it would distract Black. All he wanted to do was eat, then get out of there. That was most likely not going to happen.

            The next hour began with a toast from Albus for Potter's fifteenth birthday, then of excited talk and delicious food. However, one section of the table was not happy.

            "Snape, pass the salt."

            "I already did, Black."

            "Pass the pepper then!"

            "Dear, dear, Black. You have no manners whatsoever. Lupin, I suggest taking the mutt to obedience school." 

            "Sirius, Professor, please –" 

            "How dare you, you oily bastard! Why Dumbledore thinks you've changed, I'll never know!"

            "Sirius, stop –"

            "For your information Black, I turned from that path a long time ago. For you, however, I might make an exception!" 

            "Professor –"

            "Don't talk to him, Harry –"

            "STOP!" 

            Everyone, including Sirius and Severus, stopped talking and looked at Harry, who was standing. 

            "I'll – I'll be right back." Harry muttered. He turned around and walked out of the Hall without a backward glance. 

            Instantly, everyone was talking. Many people kept throwing looks of anger and annoyance at the two men. Sirius shifted guiltily in his seat, while Severus picked up his fork and dragged it through the mashed potatoes. Remus looked upset at the pair of them, and when Sirius tried to say something to him, he held up a hand, silencing him. Dumbledore stood up and walked over to them, bending low so that no one could hear. 

            "Sirius. Severus. I am very disappointed." The man's eyes were as hard as steel. "I don't know if we will be able to salvage this evening or not. No, Sirius." He silenced the upset looking man with a hand. "Both of you know that you are responsible. I will not listen to childish accusations. From either of you. Now, I want you, Severus, to go find Harry and see if you can get him to come back." Severus nodded, even though he would rather fight with Black than reason with Potter. "Sirius, I will move your seat if I have to, but don't you think that would be embarrassing? You are, after all, a grown man. Work this out now. I don't want to hear about it again." The Headmaster straightened and walked back to his chair.

            Severus turned and looked at Black with contempt. Black had an identical expression on his face.

            "I'll get along with you. For Harry's sake." Black said, holding out his hand. 

            "Why do you always have to drag _him_ into it?" Severus hissed. 

            Black glared. "Because he needs me! He's bound to you, or have you forgotten?" 

            "He's fifteen as of today, you don't need to play parent to him, he's done fine up until now." As soon as he had said it, Severus instantly regretted it.

            "Fine? _Fine? You've got to be joking!" _

            Severus glared, then held out his hand. "Just shake my bloody hand so I can go find the brat." 

            "See?" Black hissed. "He needs me because that's all you think of him as! That's all you'll _ever_ think of him as!"

            Severus clenched his jaw and said through gritted teeth, "Just. Shake it." 

            Black shook his hand quickly, but continued to glare. Severus stood up and swept out of the Great Hall in search of Potter. He found him, sitting against the wall a little ways away from the doors. Severus didn't know how to approach him, so he thought that maybe a joke was in order. He hardly ever joked anyway.

            "What's the matter, Potter? Cake the wrong flavor?" he sneered.          

            Potter looked up, anger blazing on his face.

            "Go away."

            Severus sighed. "Come on, Potter, stop that childish sulking." 

            Potter laughed bitterly. "You've said that before."

            Severus paused. "So I have. But you deserved it both times," he said haughtily.

            Potter looked up at him. "Do you have to be so mean?"

            Severus glared. "Come on, Potter, what's the matter? Tell me so that we can go back." 

            Potter suddenly stood up and glared at him. He was at least a head shorter than Severus, but he still was slightly intimidating.

            "I'll tell you what's the matter. You and Sirius are _ruining_ this party! For everyone, not just me!" the boy leaned against the wall and slid down it, putting his face to his knees. The boy's voice was muffled, and Severus leaned down to hear. "This is the first birthday party I've ever had…I just wanted it to be nice…" 

            Severus stood there, stunned. He had never been stunned speechless so often. In fact, he was prepared to bet everything, that he had been stunned more times in the past month alone, than his entire life combined. This was Potter's first birthday party? No wonder he had been so emotional in the beginning…

            "But surely…Granger and Weasley…" 

            "They only sent gifts. I was never with them for my birthday. The Dursleys never threw me a party, they hated me."

            "Ah." Severus stood there for a moment. It felt quite awkward to be standing when Potter was on the floor, head level with his knees. He leaned against the wall and slid down beside Potter. Not too close though. 

            "You know Potter," Severus started. He felt really odd. It was almost as though he was watching the scene take place. He wasn't in control of his mouth. "When I was your age, I never had any birthday parties either…" Severus busied himself by arranging his robes over his knees.

            "You didn't?" Potter's voice wasn't muffled anymore. "Why not?"  Severus looked down and was surprised to see not only curiosity in those green eyes, but concern as well.

            "I don't know," he answered. "I guess I didn't have anyone to invite."

            Potter nodded. "I didn't either. Dudley, my cousin, made sure no body talked to me. Dudley and his gang were bullies. They beat me up all the time. People were scared that if they talked to me, Dudley would beat them up as well." Potter looked suddenly shocked, then embarrassed. "I don't know why I told you that."

            "What do you mean?"

            Potter fiddled with the ties on his shoes. "No body knows about that. Not even Dumbledore." 

            Severus nodded. Then suddenly, a horrible thought struck him. What was even more surprising was the fact that he thought it was horrible. "Your cousin… he doesn't still beat you does he?"

            "Oh no," Potter said quickly. "The most they do is yell at me. There was a brief time in my second year when they locked me in my room and put bars on my window," Severus' eyebrows rose at that. "But that was all." 

            "Hmmm." 

            For some odd reason, this made Potter smile. 

            "What?"

            "Nothing," Potter shook his head, smiling.

            Severus frowned a bit. His goal wasn't to make the boy smile.

            "Well," he said uncomfortably. "Shall we go in?" Potter nodded.

            They both stood up and Potter led his way into the Hall. When they entered, people smiled at him, and Potter smiled back. He sat in his seat and nodded when Sirius muttered a quick 'sorry'. Severus sat down and Albus stood up. 

            "I think it's time for the cake!" Everyone clapped and cheered as the candles went out and millions of tiny candles on the cake lit themselves. The candles reflected off of the old man's glasses as he used his wand to conduct. Potter smiled as everyone started to sing. 

            Severus didn't really do singing. He had been told years ago by Albus that he had a beautiful voice when he had been caught singing while working, but he doubted that was true. Awkwardly, he joined in with everybody else in time for the last verse.

            _Happy Birthday Dear Harry!_

_            Happy Birthday to You!           _

When it was over, everyone clapped again. Albus had a small piece of cake with fifteen candles already cut, and put in front of Potter.

            "Make a wish, Harry!" Sirius called.

            Harry smiled and closed his eyes. Then he opened them and blew out every single candle. 

            He looked bashfully at everyone when they started clapping again. Only Severus knew the significance of why there were tears in the boy's eyes. That was the first time he had ever been sung to, and his first time to make a wish. The sappiness of it all was getting to him.

            Twenty minutes later, after everyone had had their fill of cake, Lupin called, "Gifts, gifts!" The table cleared itself and the many gifts that had been on the small table appeared in front of the overwhelmed Gryffindor. 

            Severus suddenly began to sweat. He sat through gifts being opened, clutching the arms of his chair. He hoped to God that Lupin had gotten something appropriate. Like a book, or something. Judging from the lumpy package, he doubted the gift was a book. Suddenly, the package he had been staring at was picked up.

            "Open this one, Harry!" Severus glared at Lupin, who smiled back.

            "From Professor Snape…" Potter read off the card. Severus shrunk in his chair. He couldn't help but notice Black tense up. 

            Potter eagerly ripped off the silver wrapping. There was a layer of white tissue paper, and Potter tore through that too. Severus glimpse something brown and furry looking. Oh Christ.

            Potter gasped. He had in his hands a soft, plush stuffed animal. Severus recognized it to be a stag. There was a name tag around its neck. The tag read 'Prongs'.     

            Potter looked up at Severus. Oh shit, Prongs was the nickname of James Potter at school! Potter might get upset…he never should have trusted Lupin.

            "Thanks," he said quietly. 

            Severus cleared his throat. "You're welcome."

            Potter looked down at the animal with a smile. Severus was too busy watching the boy to notice the looks he was getting from everybody else.        

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that night, unbeknownst to anyone, Harry Potter hugged the first stuffed animal he had ever received and lay down for bed, a small smile forming on his face. 

TBC

Whew! Wow that chapter was hard to do. I completely redid this chapter. Originally, I had planned for this just to be a gift shopping chapter, but then, since I'm a day late, I thought I owed it to you all to make this a long chapter (well, longer. 10 pages on the computer!). I also added the whole Remus bit. I hope you all liked it! I did some character developing of Remus, hope he was up to par. This was also the first chapter told almost totally in Severus' POV. I hope this satisfies you all for a while because I won't be here next Sunday, I'll be with my grandpa for Easter Break. So, REVIEW and tell me what you thought.

P.S. I really really enjoy reading your reviews, especially those of you who have reviewed every chapter! It's awesome to have such dedicated fans! Remember, if you want that picture of Harry, don't hesitate to ask! Also I got the second Harry Potter DVD! It's awesome! You should all go buy it right now! 


	9. The End of Summer

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Potter Universe. It all belongs to the amazing J.K. Rowling, who, I might add, is a genius! I only like to force the characters to do things they would never do without the assistance of chemical substances!!!! _

_Pairing: Harry/Severus …. If this freaks you out, then PLEASE don't read any further, I don't really appreciate reviews telling me how sick I am, okay? P.S. Harry is underage, even in the __U.K.__ okay? He's in his 5th year in this fic, but don't worry, it doesn't get really heavy for a while…maybe not ever, because I don't have much confidence in writing naughty scenes like that. -_

_Summary: Harry tries a blood magic potion to better understand his summer potions homework, but mixes up the name with another potion that binds the drinker to his or her most compatible match in ability – a soul mate, if you will(not necessarily romantic, for instance, siblings are often bonded). Guess who Harry gets bonded with?_

_Spoilers: All the books, especially the 4th one, so if you haven't read it, well, you'll find out what happens._

_Author's Note: Yes, I know there are several fics out there just like this one, but I just wanted to write my own and maybe get a few nice reviews, so give me a break okay? Understand that a relationship between Harry and Severus will take a while to form. Kissing or any other actions probably won't happen for two or so chapters more._

_P.S. I'm SORRY this took so long! Exams are coming up, my mom broke her arm, and the school musical was coming! This chapter is mostly plot building, nothing too romantic, especially since the last one was chock full of it! ^^_

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Chapter 9: The End of Summer

            It had just been four days after Harry's birthday party and the giving of the eyebrow-raising gift. Harry was just as dumbfounded as everyone else. Why had Snape given such a peculiar gift (for him, anyway)? The day after the party, Harry had gone in search of Snape to thank him again, and maybe ask him about the gift. Did it have a specific meaning? Was Snape finally going to try and be something besides a git to him? But to Harry's displeasure, Snape was no where to be found. Harry even tried knocking on the door of Snape's private chambers. So Harry had no choice but to sit and wonder, and possibly get some homework done.

            "Spin and point…spin and point…," Harry spun his wand around clockwise, then swung it upwards, then pointed it at a large stone by the lake. It was a little past lunchtime, and Harry was getting a good start on his Transfiguration homework. The assignment Professor McGonagall had given them had been to practice the wand motions for self-transformation spells and the pronunciations of the spells; at different times, of course. Harry turned to look down at his open text book. A shadow fell across the page.

            "Harry, I've been looking for you,"

            Harry looked up to see the Headmaster smiling at him, his glasses glinting in the sun.

            "Hello Professor."

            Dumbledore smiled again, then looked out across the lake.

            "What a lovely day it is," he said wistfully, as though he hated to ruin it. Harry braced himself.

            "What is it, sir?"

            Dumbledore sighed. "Severus is expected back today. I fear that he will bring unhappy news."

            Harry started. "What do you mean, coming back?" 

            Dumbledore looked down at him. "Severus was called," Harry blanched. "I can only hope that he is safe."

            Harry nodded and gulped. Actually, what he was more worried about besides the fact that Snape was with Voldemort was the fact that he was so troubled by the idea. Last month he probably wouldn't have reacted at all. Harry chewed his bottom lip as he thought; he was too busy thinking to see Dumbledore smiling.

            "How are you, Harry?"

            Harry looked back up, unsure of how to answer that question. "I – I guess I'm okay…" 

            Dumbledore hitched up his vibrant purple robes, then lowered himself down next to Harry on the grass. Harry shifted a bit to give the older man room in the shadow of the tree he had been sitting under. 

            "Harry, I'm not trying to pry," Harry smiled to himself. "But I am interested as to how your relationship with Severus is progressing." Harry squirmed at the word, 'relationship'. 

            Harry paused, wondering how to best phrase his feelings without being rude. "Professor Snape is very…erm …hostile…about the whole thing."

            Dumbledore chuckled merrily. "Yes, I can imagine."

            "But," Harry said hastily, not wanting to cause trouble. "We've been getting on all right lately."

            Dumbledore laughed again. "It's all right Harry, I understand perfectly. Severus is not the easiest person to get close too. From what I saw at your birthday, however, you two are much closer than you think." 

            Harry looked up from the grass that he had been staring at, and watched, puzzled, as Dumbledore gave him one of his secret smiles and stood up and walked away. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Harry yawned tiredly. He stretched and looked at his wristwatch: it was half past six, and it was getting dark. He might as well go in for dinner. Harry stood up and packed his bag and swung it over his shoulder, a gesture that he had picked up from Hermione. He took one last look at the lake, which was starting to reflect the moon. Harry's gaze shifted suddenly when he saw something suddenly appear at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. It looked like a person! Harry began to panic. Was it a Death Eater? Just as he was about to sprint up to the castle, a cloud shifted, allowing the moon to illuminate the stranger. Harry's heart sped up as he recognized the sharp profile of Snape, and he gasped as he fell to the ground. Harry dropped his bag and ran as fast as he could. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "A – A – amok!" Harry panted. The gargoyle sprang away, and the wall parted. Harry grunted with the effort of dragging his professor through the wall, then slumped against the spiraling stairs. 

            "Ung…" Harry started and looked down at Snape. He was stirring, and he hissed with pain, his face half obscured by his hair. Harry reached down and pulled back his hair. He felt something wet and sticky, and he pulled back his hand to see blood on the tips of his fingers. 

            "Professor? Professor, can you hear me?" he asked shakily. An odd feeling was stirring in his stomach. He was practically hyperventilating from the effort of dragging his professor, and panic was making him irrational. He needed these stairs to be at the top NOW! 

            A cough. Harry looked down, and ran his fingers through the older man's hair, trying to find the wound. "H – Harry?"

            Harry sighed in relief. "Yes, it's me. Don't worry, we're almost there…"

           Snape coughed again, and Harry winced at the bubbling sound, knowing that he was being choked by his own blood. 

            "Harry?" Harry looked up at the top of the stairs to see Dumbledore.

            "Professor!" He scrambled to his feet, holding on to the collar of Snape's robes. "Quick, Professor Snape's hurt!"

            "Wingardium Leviosa!" Dumbledore shouted, lifting his hand. Snape flew out of Harry's grasp and floated upwards and threw the door. Harry hurried after them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus concentrated with all his might on not crying out. This moment of torture had become routine. Ever since he had returned to Voldemort, he had struggled to keep up the façade of a spy for the Dark. For some reason, Voldemort was suspicious of him yet again.

"Don't lie to me, Snape." The high cold voice hissed. "I have a reliable source that has told me that you were seen with Potter! In Hogsmeade! I have told you time and time again to bring the boy to me if you ever got out of Hogwarts on your own! You have disobeyed me!"

"No," he croaked. 

"Liar," the man breathed. "_Crucio__!"_

Severus gasped and fell to his knees. This must have been the seventh time; he couldn't remember any more. His head was pounding from the blow he had received the moment he had apparated, and he retched violently.

"Tell me, Snape!" he sneered. "I know you were with him! Why?"

The pain lessened. Severus gasped, then looked up. "I – needed – to buy ingredients – for the werewolf." He coughed again; he could taste his own blood.

"Why did Potter go with you, Snape? Why was that necessary?" Severus could hear the mocking laughter. 

Severus coughed, blood dripping to the ground. Why had he invited Potter to go with him? 'Because,' he told himself. 'Black would have found him and would have found me….' _No…a voice said in his frazzled mind. __You asked him to come with you…because you wanted him to come with you… you didn't have a real reason did you? Just wanted your soul mate's company? Idiot! Bleeding fool! _

Severus was brought back to reality by a blast to his stomach. 

"Answer me!"

"Potter's birthday…" he coughed. "Dumbledore was planning it – wanted him away…"

"You are lying, Snape. Potter was born July thirty-first; you were spotted a week prior to that! Go back to Hogwarts. You have disappointed me."

"No – my lord, please! I am loyal to you!" Snape rasped. If he lost Voldemort's trust, that would be the end!  

"Oh, you will still be called, Snape, never fear." Voldemort laughed cruelly. "But I will not trust you. Go. Lucius, give him a portkey. If that old fool asks what you have learned…tell him about my plans for Draco."

Snape gasped as Lucius kicked him in the stomach, smirked widely. 

"But – if I tell him, he – will – try and interfere-"

"Of course he will, my friend. Can you not see? Draco will claim to be a converted Death Eater, desperate to be saved." Voldemort laughed again, and so did the assembled Death Eaters. "Dumbledore will trust him, and then we will have another spy for us – a true spy!" he finished wickedly. Lucius smiled proudly. It made Severus want to vomit what was left of his stomach. 

Lucius thrust the portkey, a black feather, into his hand. "And as for Potter…" Severus was losing consciousness. "Draco will take care of him." 

Severus grimaced at Voldemort's tone, and clutched his heaving stomach as the portkey began to work. He felt like he was being sucked into a tornado, and the last thing he remembered was the moon shining overhead before he fell into the dark.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Harry sat anxiously on a chair outside of the Hospital Wing. It had been over an hour since he had seen Snape fall to the ground. What was happening to him? Harry swallowed. His soul mate…. What would happen if Snape died? Would he never have someone to be with? Harry snorted to himself. He kept forgetting that 'soul mate' didn't have to mean romantic – but

            "Harry?"

            Harry snapped out of his thought at the sound of Dumbledore's questioning voice. He leapt to his feet.

            "Is he all right, Professor?"

            Dumbledore gave him a comforting smile. "Yes, he will be fine." Harry sighed with relief.

            "It is lucky you found him when you did. Otherwise, we may have been too late."

            Harry just nodded, not wanting to think about it. He resolved, at that very moment, that he didn't want to lose his soul mate even if the man was a callous git; he would get to know his soul mate and learn to make the best of this situation no matter what. 

TBC

Yes, I know I took forever to get this out, and YES I know it's shorter than all of the previous ones. Sorry about that. I'm not that good at plot building. This was the "turning point" chapter, where Harry's feelings begin to change… – I kept wanting to skip to the Christmas chapter -

Anyway, I would really appreciate understanding from you all (exams, school musical, mom's arm got broken…cut me some slack!) and PLEASE bear with me! School is almost over, and when it is, I'll get chapters out much faster! I LOVE YOU ALL! REVIEW! 


	10. School Reopens

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Potter Universe. It all belongs to the amazing J.K. Rowling, who, I might add, is a genius! I only like to force the characters to do things they would never do without the assistance of chemical substances!!!! _

_Pairing: Harry/Severus …. If this freaks you out, then PLEASE don't read any further, I don't really appreciate reviews telling me how sick I am, okay? P.S. Harry is underage, even in the __U.K.__ okay? He's in his 5th year in this fic, but don't worry, it doesn't get really heavy for a while…maybe not ever, because I don't have much confidence in writing naughty scenes like that. -_

_Summary: Harry tries a blood magic potion to better understand his summer potions homework, but mixes up the name with another potion that binds the drinker to his or her most compatible match in ability – a soul mate, if you will(not necessarily romantic, for instance, siblings are often bonded). Guess who Harry gets bonded with?_

_Spoilers: All the books, especially the 4th one, so if you haven't read it, well, you'll find out what happens._

_Author's Note: Yes, I know there are several fics out there just like this one, but I just wanted to write my own and maybe get a few nice reviews, so give me a break okay? ^^ _

_Hey guess what gang? Only a few more chapters till the Christmas KISSING scene!!!! Wahoo! So excited!!! But hold on for a few more chapters please?!?!! This chapter includes school re-opening and Ron & Hermione's return. Also some Severus/Harry alone interaction! *evil grin*_

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Chapter 10: School Reopens

            Harry watched with trepidation as Snape recounted everything to Dumbledore. Snape had woken up five minutes ago, and had immediately demanded a meeting with the Headmaster. Dumbledore had let Harry stay and listen.

            "Voldemort plans for Draco Malfoy to become a spy for him. Malfoy will pretend to be a faithful spy for us while honestly working for Voldemort."

            "So, he'll be like you, except the opposite?" Harry interrupted before he could stop himself. Snape gave him a swift look, as though surprised Harry was paying attention.

            "Yes." He said finally.

            "That settles it then," Dumbledore sighed heavily and leaned back in his chair. "We have lost another," a look of inexplicable sadness overcame the man's features.

            "I am sorry," Snape said. Harry looked at him, surprised; he had never heard Snape speak in that self- blaming tone.

            "It is not you fault, Severus."

            "I'm afraid I have lost my place among them, Albus." Snape said wearily. "To return again would be…pointless."

            Dumbledore frowned. "Yes, I quite agree."

            "I have fail –"

            "You have not failed me at all, Severus." Dumbledore said sharply. Dumbledore's expression changed to one of curiosity. "However, I am curious. How did he ever suspect you, Severus? You have never been challenged this harshly before."

            Snape suddenly looked uneasy. He threw a quick look at a surprised Harry before snarling, "Someone was spying on me. They saw me with Potter in Hogsmeade." 

            Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

            "It was extremely thoughtless on my behalf. Voldemort had ordered me to bring Potter to him if I ever was outside of Hogwarts with him. I had – forgotten."

            "When were you with Harry in Hogsmeade?" Dumbledore looked thoroughly bemused. 

            "I went with him to buy potions ingredients." Harry spoke up quietly.

            "Did you now?" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled merrily. 

            "Please Albus, it was nothing." Snape spat. 

            "I should hardly think so, Severus!" Dumbledore said reproachfully. "You took the initiative to spend time with Harry – without being told to do so; that is certainly something!"

            "It was nothing but stupidity, Albus!" Snape stood up. "The only reason I asked          Potter to go with me was because of Black," Harry jerked involuntarily. "And I foolishly went into Hogsmeade even though Black and Lupin had been attacked the night before! A spy could have easily been there! I did not pay attention. It was a childish mistake, not a stroll with my soul mate! Nothing more!" Snape sat back down, seething. 

            There was a tense silence.

            "That man," Harry whispered suddenly. "Professor, do you remember that man? The one you said was watching me?"

            Snape turned and looked at Harry, comprehension on his face.

            "Do you think he could have been the one, Professor?"

            Snape cursed under his breath. "Possibly," he muttered.

            "What man was this?" Dumbledore asked, looking at each of them.

            "There was a man that Potter felt was suspicious looking. He did indeed look – distrustful. However, I do not think Voldemort would have used such an obvious looking person."

            "Was there anyone else?"

            "It could have been anybody, Albus!" Snape snarled. "There were many people who could have easily spotted us!"

            Everyone lapsed into silence again.

            "Well," Albus broke the silence quietly. "I think we shall deal with one thing at a time. Draco Malfoy…we will pretend to believe him. Make Voldemort think he has a spy. We will give the boy some truth, but mostly false information. However," Dumbledore looked over at Harry. "I do want to see if we can – salvage the situation. Harry," Harry sat up straight. "I want you to do everything you can to help Draco see the truth. Do it subtly, and be careful."

            Harry nodded determinedly.

            "Good," Dumbledore peered over his glasses at Snape. "Harry, would you kindly escort Severus to his chambers?"

            Snape sat up straight, protesting. "Albus, I assure you, my health is in good enough shape for me to walk to my own chambers!"

            "Harry," Albus repeated.

            "Yes sir."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

             Harry, taking his duty seriously, stuck close to his professor's side all the way down to the dungeons, despite Snape's best efforts to shake him off. In a valiant attempt, Snape sped up, then stopped suddenly. Unfortunately, his long robes caught the tip of his boots, and he stumbled slightly.

            "Are you sure you're all right, Professor?" Harry asked, concerned.

            Snape grumbled and hitched up his robes. "I'm _fine_ Potter!"

            Harry winced at the man's irritated hiss, but kept walking. Struggling for some conversation to cut the silence, Harry voiced his worries.

            "You're not going back to him, Voldemort I mean, are you?" Harry could have chewed his tongue; what a dumb question. 

            Snape curled his lip, no doubt thinking about how imbecilic he was. "Correct, Potter. We no longer have a spy." He said this in a voice dripping with self-loathing; Harry winced at that too.

            "Don't be so hard on yourself."

            Snape sneered down at him. "Who are you to tell me what I should and should not do?"

            Harry scowled. 'Your soul mate,' he thought grumpily. "I just don't want you to blame yourself. It wasn't your fault." 

            Snape raised an eyebrow. "And how, pray tell, did your addled brain come up with that stunning theory?"

            Harry paused for a second. "I didn't have to go with you…," he said slowly. "I said yes when you asked me. It was my fault." He finished with a bit more conviction, and looked up at Snape.

            Snape snorted. "If I hadn't forgotten the rules, I would have forbidden you to come."

            "You couldn't have stopped me."

            Snape looked down at him with something like amusement twitching on his lips.

            "Oh?"

            "Well," Harry blushed. "I wanted to go…. I would have come anyway."

            Snape's infamous eyebrow rose again, accompanied by an amused smirk. They had reached his chambers.

            "Maybe you are my soul mate, Potter."

            Harry blushed and shuffled his feet while Snape muttered the spells to unlock the doors. The compliment made his neck warm and tingly, and he anxiously twirled a few loose strands of hair.

            "Goodnight, Potter."

            Harry looked up to see Snape shutting the door. "Goodnight, sir." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            The last weeks of summer flew past much too quickly for Harry's liking. Although there were several memorable moments from the summer, one in particular stood out in Harry's mind. The night when Snape had made _that_ comment. Harry had taken to blushing every time Snape looked his way during dinner. Several of the teachers were noticing this, and Professor Flitwick, who sat next to Harry, never failed to twitter loudly behind his hands. Harry hated meal times.

            Harry had maintained a certain amount of calm during the Last Day of Summer Feast. He had purposefully avoided looking in the direction of his Potions Professor, but he should have known Dumbledore wouldn't let him off.

            "Severus, why don't you help Harry move back into Gryffindor Tower?"

            Harry cringed. If there was one thing he had learned from this experience, it was that Dumbledore was a ruthless man. So, a half an hour later found Professor Snape and Harry walking up to the tower, Snape levitating Harry's trunk and Harry carrying Hedwig's cage.

            When they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Snape muttered the password "swashbuckler" then strode in.

            "How do you know the password?" Harry asked, scrambling through the portrait hole behind him.

            "All of the teachers know the passwords in case of an emergency." His tone was clipped, so Harry didn't ask any more questions. He led Snape over to the boy's staircase and ran up them, feeling eager to see his old dorm. 

            The door now had a sign that said "5th Years". Harry smiled and reached for the doorknob, turned it, then held the door open for Snape.

            "Which one is yours?" he grumbled. Harry walked over to his bed and sat down on it, running a hand over the clean red blanket. Snape levitated the trunk and dropped it at the foot of Harry's bed. He stood for a moment, then, as though coming to a resolution, sat on the edge of the bed. Harry gulped.

            "Potter," Harry wriggled uncomfortably, but forced himself to look at Snape.

            "Tomorrow the school reopens. No one is to know about us, do you understand? Not even Weasley or Miss Granger." 

            "I know." Harry surprised himself at how strong and clear his voice sounded.

            "We must act as though nothing has changed; I will not suddenly favor you in class or anything of the sort."

            "I know," Harry said again. "I didn't think you would."

            "Also," Snape looked just as uncomfortable as he felt. "Dumbledore suggested that I tutor you in advanced medical potions. 'For the war' he said. But it's obviously some ploy of his to get us to spend time together, and you obviously have no interest in potions –"

            "No! I want to learn." Harry said quickly.

            Snape raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Be sure, Potter. It will be taxing on your free time, and I do not tolerate foolishness; I take my work seriously, and judging from your classroom performance, you do not."

            "I do!" Harry said defensively. "Malfoy just screws things up."

            Snape looked down at him and sneered. "Never blame another for your own incompetence, Potter."

            Harry gaped; why was Snape sticking up for Malfoy? He _knew he was bad!_

            "But – he's always putting things in our cauldrons, and –"

            "I am unimpressed, Potter. Mr. Malfoy is a talented young man. You, however, have failed to show any amount of talent when it comes to Potions. Your lack of ability got us into this mess; or have you forgotten?" 

            Harry couldn't believe it. Anger overcame his features.

            "Goodnight, Professor."

            Snape looked slightly abashed at Harry's tone, but quickly recovered himself, throwing Harry a sneer. He got up without a backward glance and stalked out the door, slamming it behind him. 

           Harry threw himself onto his bed, burying his face into his pillow. He was suddenly mortified at his previous behavior. God, what an idiot he'd been, flushing and blushing around Snape! The man was an insufferable bastard, whose mission in life was to make Harry miserable and confused; maybe Sirius was right…after all, he wasn't that great at Potions…maybe he had made a mistake.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Harry spent the next day in the tower, refusing to go the Great Hall; a house elf brought him breakfast and lunch. Harry sat on the common room, playing Exploding Snap by himself, and skimmed through his homework making sure he hadn't forgotten anything. He knew it was childish to avoid Snape, but he didn't care anymore. What was the point? Whenever he thought he had actually made progress, Snape squashed down on something and Harry was right back where he started. 'Well, I'm through with that' Harry thought to himself. 

            After he finished polishing his Firebolt, he looked at the clock and saw that he had twenty minutes before everyone would start arriving. Somewhat reluctantly, he put his Firebolt in his trunk, dressed into his school robes, and then walked as slowly as possible to the Great Hall.  

            When he arrived, he noticed immediately that the four house tables were back in position; he wouldn't be sitting with the teachers anymore. Hmmm, he'd miss that. The teachers were already seated, except for Hagrid, who was no doubt on his way across the lake right now, and Professor McGonagall, who was most likely waiting for the first years. Harry walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down on an end seat. He glanced up at the teachers table saw Professor Carroll and Professor Flitwick waving at him. Harry smiled and waved back; Professor Flitwick had turned into a sort of pint-sized grandfather, and ever since the shopping trip, Professor Carroll always said 'hello' to Harry. 

            Harry sat up straight as he felt that now familiar tug; Professor Snape was looking at him. Harry's eyes swept the table and he caught Snape's before the man had time to look away. Snape lifted an eyebrow at the challenging glare Harry threw at him, and, surprisingly, held his gaze. This was interesting; usually, Snape would have thought this was some childish game and would look away. Harry raised an identical eyebrow and summoned up his most Snape-like glare he had. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dumbledore chuckle. Snape leaned forwards and his lip curled slightly. Harry met this with a defiant tilt of his chin. Dumbledore was positively beaming now. Snape narrowed his eyes and Harry did the same. 'Bastard' Harry thought. 

            Harry was broken out of his staring trance by the sounds of many footsteps outside of the Great Hall. Harry swiveled around and faced the huge doubled doors anxiously; he couldn't wait to see his friends.

            The doors opened and the first students in were some sixth year Ravenclaws that Harry knew by sight; some of them were Cho's friends. Next, some younger Slytherins entered, and Hufflepuffs followed closely afterwards. Some of them threw Harry suspicious looks, wondering why he was here before them, while others looked at him sadly. Harry shifted uncomfortably when some of the older Hufflepuffs came in. Harry looked down at his knees to cover up his uneasiness. Harry looked up again when he heard some loud catcalls, and a smile appeared on his face as Fred and George Weasley came in wearing identical grins and waving at him, Lee Jordan at their side. Harry couldn't help it; he stood up and raced towards them, eager to see a friendly face. 

            "Harry! How'd you get here before us?" George demanded mockingly. Harry was about to answer when he was distracted by Fred picking him up in a bear hug and spinning him around. 

            "We were right worried about you, weren't we George?" Harry smiled sheepishly as Fred let him down and ruffled his hair. Harry couldn't help but notice that both Fred and George looked too old to be here; their seventeenth birthday had been in April, and they were fast approaching eighteen. 

            "Oh," Harry grinned up at them, suddenly shy. "I was alright." 

            "Mum was really upset when your birthday gifts came back," George said.

            "Oh!" Harry clapped a hand to his forehead. "I'm sorry, I completely forgot about that!" Harry suddenly felt terrible.

            "It's okay, mate. She's always like that." Fred laughed reassuringly.

            "Oh, and Harry," George leaned forward conspiratorially. Harry leaned forward, smiling at George's tone. "We think ickle Ronniekin's got a crush on Hermione."

            Harry laughed and shook his head. "You don't say?"

            Fred smirked, then ruffled Harry's hair again. "Knew you were a smart one."

            "Harry!"

            Harry looked behind Fred and George excitedly. Ron and Hermione were bounding towards him, Hermione's hair flying.

            Hermione reached him first and she threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek. Harry blushed, though was really quite pleased, and hugged her back. Hermione stepped back, and Ron stepped forward. Only when Harry looked at him, he was looking at his chest. Harry tilted his head back.

            "Ron?" 

            Ron laughed and pulled him into a one-armed hug. "Yeah, it's me, Harry."

            "You've – um, changed." Harry stammered.

            Changed was an understatement. Ron was, indeed, a tower. He was tall and lanky as ever, but had grown into his long nose and big hands and feet. He was very possibly taller than Fred and George, taking after Bill and Percy, while the twins took after Charlie. Harry also couldn't help but notice that when his best friend hugged him, he was hugged by a strong arm and pressed into a broad chest.

            "You have too, mate." Ron looked down at him. "You've gotten shorter." Harry blushed, and mumbled something about not eating much, and Ron just laughed. It was a deeper laugh than Harry remembered.

            "Yes, he has." Harry, Ron, and Hermione all turned to see Malfoy, smirking as wide as ever. Crabbe and Goyle were, as always, flanking him. What was different this time was that Malfoy was taller than both of his bodyguards. Harry gulped.

            Standing before him was the new Draco Malfoy. It was obvious that Malfoy had grown out of the whiny boy he used to be and had become a smooth-talking man. He had also gone through a growth spurt, and was now standing as tall as Ron. His voice was a silky drawl that sounded way too much like his father's for Harry's liking. Draco's hair was slicked back, and his skin was pale with candle light flickering against it. He looked, in Harry's opinion, like the ultimate personification of a snob.

            "What do you want, Malfoy?" Ron spat. Harry was suddenly very grateful for Ron's new height; if it ever came to blows, there was no way Harry would ever win against Malfoy.

            "Oh nothing," Malfoy said innocently. "Just wanted to say hello to Potter…catch up on old times."

            "Well you've said it, so go."

            "I don't believe I was talking to you, Weasley." He sneered, practically spitting the name.

            "Hello, Malfoy." Harry stepped forward. 

            Malfoy smirked down at him. "How are feeling, Potter? Confident?" 

            Harry glared, but before he could respond, the Great Hall doors opened again. Everyone hurried to find their seats as the Sorting began.

TBC

Hey, 7 pages! So, what'd you think? Even though there was a step back in Severus and Harry's growing relationship, there was some unintentional flirting happening on several occasions! Okay fine, only twice, but still! And yes, I don't know how mature Draco would be, but I know Ron is almost sixteen because in a J.K. Rowling interview, she said Ron's birthday was March 1st. So there! Ron's mature. I guess they're a little more mature than they should be, but I wanted Malfoy to be intimidating, and Ron should be tall because he's always been tall. 

Exams are almost up!     


	11. Draco Malfoy

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Potter Universe. It all belongs to the amazing J.K. Rowling, who, I might add, is a genius! I only like to force the characters to do things they would never do without the assistance of chemical substances!!!! _

_Pairing: Harry/Severus …. If this freaks you out, then PLEASE don't read any further, I don't really appreciate reviews telling me how sick I am, okay? P.S. Harry is underage, even in the __U.K.__ okay? He's in his 5th year in this fic, but don't worry, it doesn't get really heavy for a while…maybe not ever, because I don't have much confidence in writing naughty scenes like that. -_

_Summary: Harry tries a blood magic potion to better understand his summer potions homework, but mixes up the name with another potion that binds the drinker to his or her most compatible match in ability – a soul mate, if you will(not necessarily romantic, for instance, siblings are often bonded). Guess who Harry gets bonded with?_

_Spoilers: All the books, especially the 4th one, so if you haven't read it, well, you'll find out what happens._

_Author's Note: Yes, I know there are several fics out there just like this one, but I just wanted to write my own and maybe get a few nice reviews, so give me a break okay? ^^ _

_Hey guess what gang? Only a few more chapters till the Christmas KISSING scene!!!! Wahoo! So excited!!! But hold on for a few more chapters please?!?!! This chapter includes school starting up, Draco, and Snape/Harry interactions and Ron and Hermione!!!_

_P.S. I got a lot of reviews telling me that Harry needed to be older. I believe I already mentioned that Harry is 15 and if you don't like that, don't read the fic. If you want an older more mature Harry, write your own fic. The world needs more Harry/Severus fiction anyway_ ^^

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Chapter 11: Draco Malfoy

            "Who does he think he is? Who?"

"Just ignore him, Ron," Harry muttered, sitting back down.

            "That snotty git is impossible," Ron said angrily. Harry just nodded, masking his sudden discomfort. Dumbledore had given Harry the task of convincing Malfoy to join their side. How was he supposed to do that? Especially with Ron and Hermione with him? Not to mention the fact that Harry didn't like Malfoy in the slightest.

            Harry was jerked out of his thoughts as Professor McGonagall appeared with a line of first years in tow. They were all looking around wide-eyed and mouths agape, taking everything in. Harry couldn't help but watch with excitement. Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on the stool. Harry glanced up at Snape. His professor was watching with what looked like detached interest. As though he felt his eyes, Snape turned and looked straight at him. Harry held his gaze for a few seconds before slowly looking away. He hoped he had communicated how angry he still was. He turned his attention to the Sorting Hat, whose brim split, and the tatty old hat began to sing:

            _Oh new youngsters,_

_            I'll bet you're wondering_

_            What I am for; _

_            So I'll tell you in a song_

_            Like I have every year before;_

_            I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat,_

_            I must look inside your mind,_

_            To sort through your thoughts and dreams_

_            To see what I can find; _

_            I'll send you off to Gryffindor_

_            If I find bravery and courage,_

_            But you'll be in Ravenclaw_

_            If I find a strong thirst for knowledge;_

_            To Hufflepuff you will be sent_

_            If I see a working will,_

_            Or perhaps to Slytherin_

_            If I sense a potent skill!_

_            It's easy, don't be scared,_

_            Just set me on your head!_

_            I'll take a look and wish you luck_

_            Then send you on ahead!_

            Everyone burst into applause at the end of the Sorting Hat's song. The faces of the first years looked a good deal less nervous as Professor McGonagall unrolled the scroll of names.

            "When your name is called, come and sit on the stool to be sorted. When the Sorting Hat has made its decision, you may go sit at your House table." Professor McGonagall adjusted her spectacles and called out the first name.

            "Atkinson, Eli!"

            Eli Atkinson tripped out of the line and hurried forward. Professor McGonagall placed the hat on his head and everyone waited with baited breath. Harry couldn't help but smile at the boy's apprehensive face. 

            "RAVENCLAW!" 

            The Ravenclaw table applauded with delight. Harry glanced over and noticed that Cho Chang clapped in a subdued manner; much different than last year. A pang of guilt shot through Harry, and he quickly turned back to the Sorting.

            "Blalock, Isabel!"

            A tiny girl scuttled forward excitedly and tugged on the ends of her long hair as the Sorting Hat made his decision.

            "GRYFFINDOR!"

            Isabel leapt off the stool and practically skipped over to the Gryffindor table. Harry clapped enthusiastically along with everyone else. Fred and George were whistling. A seventh year Gryffindor girl that Harry knew by sight hugged her; she must have been her sister. 

            "Brock, Spencer!" 

            A tall, thin, black-haired boy walked forward imperiously, and Harry could already guess what House he would be sorted into.

            "SLYTHERIN!"

            Harry glanced at Snape, who was applauding Spencer Brock and looking on with something like pride. Harry suddenly felt odd; Snape never applauded him, and there he was, sitting up there, applauding a boy he didn't even know. Harry wrenched his gaze away from the man in time to see Malfoy pat Spencer Brock on the back. Harry vaguely heard Professor McGonagall call the name "Calabresi, Augustus!" 

            "RAVENCLAW!"

            "Corkum, Abigail!" 

            A blonde girl with pigtails bounced over to the stool. She became the first Hufflepuff. The Hufflepuff table exploded with applause, stamping their feet and hollering. They earned a raised eyebrow from Professor McGonagall. It seemed that the Hufflepuffs were determined to show the rest of the school that they were still alive. 

            "Cropper, Addison!" 

            "GRYFFINDOR!"

            Harry cheered as Addison Cropper came bounding over. 

            "Jesus, we're still on the 'C' names!" Seamus muttered from across Harry. Harry grinned as Ron answered with a groan. 

            "Now Ron, we've talked about this! The Sorting is an extremely important ceremony! Your stomach can wait!" Hermione reprimanded as "Elkin, Evan!" became a Hufflepuff. Ron's ears turned red. 

            Harry looked on as "Gerrity, MacKenzie!" was sorted into Slytherin. Again, his eyes were drawn to Snape, who was nodding to the Slytherin table. He felt that odd feeling again, a kind a pressure on his chest. He kept his gaze on Snape as "Hibbs, Lewis!" was called to the stool, almost wishing that Snape would feel the weight of his stare and look at him, but he didn't. 

The hat called, "HUFFLEPUFF!" and the table to his right burst into applause. Harry rested his chin on his hand and stifled a yawn. There were a lot of students left. He thought he heard Ron's stomach growl over the applause for "Karp, Sarah!" who had just been made a Ravenclaw. 

            Several minutes later, the line of students was down to three. "Spawn, Zachary!" was made a Slytherin. "Wylie, Henry!" was made a Gryffindor, and "Yates, Cory!" was dubbed a Ravenclaw.

            "Thank Merlin!" Ron burst out. Harry grinned at Ron's typical eagerness and sat up. 

            Dumbledore stood up from his middle position and the Great Hall fell silent. Harry stole one more glance at Snape before looking back at the Headmaster.

            "Students!" he called, spreading his arms and looking around. Harry noticed that his face was not covered by the usual warm, comforting smile. "This year, there will be many changes; not just to class room studies, but to your lives." He paused for a moment, letting that sink in. "I would rather not start the term off on an unhappy note, but I'm afraid it is necessary." Harry looked over at the Hufflepuff table. There was a range of emotions playing on their faces; some looked sad and defeated, while others looked determined, almost defiant. Some were even looking at _him_. Harry looked back at Dumbledore.

            "As I hope you all remember, last year, a member of our community was taken from us. Cedric Diggory was taken from all of us by Lord Voldemort." Gasps were heard from the new students while the rest of the school remained silent. "I cannot express my grief enough with words or gesture. I can, however, provide a safe place for you in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. New safety precautions will be taken in these troubled times, and new classes will be established. Our new class, which I am requiring all of you take, will be Dueling taught by Professor Lupin." Harry applauded loudly. He was aware that he was the only one, but he didn't care. Then, thankfully, the rest of the Great Hall applauded as well. Remus nodded thankfully at Harry, who smiled reassuringly. He could tell that this was painful for Remus by the look in his eyes. 

            "Also, there will be several new elective classes that are not required, and you will not be graded in, which will take place during the weekend. I understand that many of you highly value your free time, but I also hope that you value your safety as well. These classes are for the purpose of increasing your knowledge of your subjects as well as preparing you for the trials that may come. The classes will be open to all and not separated by house or year. Medical Potions and Serums will be taught by Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey; Defensive Charms will be taught by Professor Flitwick; and Alternative Dark Arts will be taught by Professor Moody, who will also be filling the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts." There was a wave of applause for the ragged professor, who Harry hadn't seen. He was sitting next to Hagrid, whose huge shadow made him hard to make out. "Full course descriptions will be posted in your Common Rooms. Now, I believe I hear more than one stomach growling. Tuck in!" 

            "Yes!" Ron was already clutching his knife and fork as he waited for the food. The serving plates appeared in the center of the tables and everyone dug in.

            "Can you believe it? Classes over the weekend! As if N.E.W.T.s weren't enough!" Seamus howled.

            "I believe it!" Hermione huffed. "We need it! It's just a shame we don't get graded," she said wistfully. 

            Fred and George laughed. "What?" Hermione asked indignantly. "You'll be taking them, won't you?"

            "I suppose," Fred shrugged.  

            Hermione turned to Ron, who was shoveling mashed potatoes into his mouth. "You will, won't you, Ron?"

            Ron's face turned red as he hastily tried to swallow. He ended up choking and Hermione huffed and turned back to Fred. Harry laughed and patted Ron on the back.

            "Thanks, Harry," he managed.

            "That was smooth, Ron," he muttered.

            Ron looked at him, confused. Harry pointedly looked at Hermione and Ron blushed. "Is it that obvious?" Ron muttered, embarrassed. 

            "Just a little," he said, grinning.

            Finally, after all the deserts had disappeared from the table, and Ron and Harry were yawning simultaneously, Dumbledore stood up. The Hall fell silent once more.

            "I'm sorry to say I must bid you all goodnight! The hour is late, and you must all be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for your first day of classes! Now, off to bed!"

            Everyone clamored to get to the double doors. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were swept off into the crowd and were through the double doors in no time. Harry was just half way up the marble staircase when a hand grabbed his arm roughly.

            "Hey, Potter!"

            Harry spun around to see Malfoy, smirking from ear to ear. He jerked his arm away and glared. He realized that was the first time Malfoy had touched him. He hoped Ron hadn't gone too far.

            "What do you want, Malfoy?"

            Malfoy stepped back. "We never finished our conversation."

            "What conversation?" Harry spat. Malfoy was really annoying him, smirking like that. 

            "Are you _confident, Potter?" Malfoy leered, crossing his arms over his chest. "Think you and your pathetic Mudblood friends are safe?"_

            Harry rolled his eyes and began to turn away.

            "Don't turn your back to me, Potter! What, think you're better than me?"

            Harry spun around, and hissed, "I know what happened to you over the summer, Malfoy!" The smirk was wiped off Malfoy's face. "So yes, I _do think I'm better than you are!"_

            Malfoy uncrossed his arms and advanced up the stairs. "You don't know shit, Potter!"

            Harry snorted and turned around again. Where was everybody? Malfoy grabbed his arm and spun him around. Harry gasped as he lost his balance and fell into Malfoy.

            "Malfoy! Get off!"

            "Not until you listen to me, Potter!" Malfoy grabbed both of his shoulders to keep him from falling, but Harry was still off balance – if Malfoy let go, he would fall.

            "What then?" Harry shouted.

            "You picked the losing side, Potter." Malfoy said softly.

            "No, _you have!" Harry growled. He struggled, but Malfoy's grip on his shoulders was painful._

            "What makes you so sure, Potter?" he asked. He sounded genuinely curious. 

            "I know that killing people just because of what blood they've got is wrong." Harry said firmly. "And I also know what you're doing Malfoy," he whispered.

            Malfoy's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

            "You're a walking hypocrite, Malfoy," Harry said. "I know you're a spy for us. So stop pretending." 

            Malfoy's eyes narrowed, and if Harry hadn't been looking for it, he would have missed the triumphant gleam in Malfoy's eyes. Dumbledore's words echoed in Harry's mind. _"We will pretend to believe him. Make Voldemort think he has a spy."_

            "Is that so?" Malfoy said silkily.

            Harry smirked coldly. It was an expression he had accidentally picked up from Snape.  

            "So, technically, if I've picked the losing side, then so have you."

            Malfoy looked at him for a second, then, surprisingly gentle, sat Harry down on a stair. He didn't remove his hands from his shoulders. 

           Malfoy was still looking at Harry oddly, as though just seeing him for the first time. Harry looked straight back at him, into those cold grey eyes. 

            "Potter – I"

            "What's going on here?"

            Malfoy let go off Harry lighting fast and Harry turned with dread to that velvety voice. __

            "Professor Snape, Potter here was taunting me, sir."

            Harry didn't even bother to fight back. That odd feeling that he had felt during dinner was back… that painful longing in his chest. _Please don't believe him, please… _

            "I see," Harry wasn't looking at Snape, but surprisingly, he knew exactly the expression Snape was wearing: a smug look with glittering eyes.

            "I would think, Mr. Malfoy, that you would not want to be in his presence if he was taunting you. Perhaps you should go off to bed and let me deal with…" Harry looked up in time to catch the lip curl as Snape said, "this."

            Malfoy smirked. "Of course, Professor."

            Harry grimaced and looked at the floor. He heard Malfoy's steps as he walked away. 

            "Potter," 

            Harry looked up. Snape wasn't looking smug anymore.

            "I thought I told you to be careful. Do you know how dangerous that could have been?"

            "Actually sir, Dumbledore told me to be careful, not you." 

            Snape paused at that. "Oh," he said. "Well then, be careful Potter. Who knows what Malfoy could do with you alone?" 

            Harry blushed. That didn't sound right. 

            "For God's sake, get your mind out of the gutter, Potter! That's not what I meant!"  

            "Sorry," he mumbled.

            Snape cleared his throat. "What were you talking about?"

            "I told him I knew that he was a spy for us and that he should stop pretending to hate me. But of course, he really is a spy. _On_ us though," Harry muttered. He sighed, then sank onto a stair. 

            Snape walked up the stairs and sat next to him. Harry felt secretly pleased. Maybe Snape was going to be nice again (nice for Snape anyway). Harry knew it was too much to hope that Snape would apologize. After all, now that Harry thought about it, Snape was right about him and potions. 

            "You should be more careful where you hold your little intervention meetings, Potter. Anyone could have seen you," Snape chided.

            "I wasn't planning on that and you know it!" Harry said defensively. "Malfoy practically threw me down the stairs." 

Snape snorted. 

            Harry sighed. "The real problem isn't where though. It's how."

            Snape looked at him. "What do you mean?"

            Harry sighed again. "I don't know how to show him that he's picked the wrong side. How am I supposed to change fifteen years of Death Eater training?"

            "You don't need to change his views, Potter. That may never change. But you can make him question them."

            "How?"

            Snape rolled his eyes and leaned back on the stair behind him. Harry tried not to notice the way his robes tightened over his chest.    

            "If you haven't noticed, Potter, Malfoy is obsessed with you. Must I tell you everything?" 

            Harry gaped at his Professor's bluntness.

            "What's that supposed to mean?"

            "I'm saying that you shouldn't underestimate the things you say to him. I'm telling the truth when I say that he'll be up most of the night analyzing everything you have said to him."

            Harry stared. "Has he done that…often?"

            "It is one of the reasons his grades are not the best." Snape looked over at Harry and met his eyes with a seriousness that Harry had never seen before. "Show him everything. Show him what it means to be with the Order of the Phoenix. Show him what you are all about, Harry." 

Harry's eyes widened; not only from the passion in Snape's voice, but because Snape had used his name. Snape seemed to realize this, and he looked down at his hands. Harry quickly tried to regain the thread of the conversation before Snape took off.

"So you're saying he pays so much attention to me that he might think I'm right and want to do what I do…because I'm me?" 

"Stunning intellect, Potter." His voice sounded suddenly exhausted. 

Harry stared at Snape's lowered head. "Professor…" 

"You really should get to bed, Potter." Snape said suddenly, standing up. "Potions will be your first class."  

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            The next morning, Harry sat in the Great Hall barely able to keep his eyes open. He had stayed up almost all night thinking about what Snape had said, and also when he had said his name. He had finally figured out what the strange feeling in his chest was. He wanted Snape to think of him as Harry. Not as a Gryffindor, not as a little boy, not as James Potter's son, not even as his soul mate; just Harry. He also wanted Snape to (ashamed as he was to admit it) _like him. Like him the way he liked his Slytherin students. He wasn't asking for much was he? He wasn't asking for Snape to suddenly smile at him or anything silly like that. He just wanted Snape to look at him with something other than disgust once and a while. Maybe even respect him. Like that would ever happen. _

He glared at the eggs that Hermione had heaped on his plate. She was as bad as Mrs. Weasley sometimes.

"Harry, you have to eat. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

"What are you, his mother? Are you going to eat that, Harry?"

"Ron!"

Harry rolled his eyes. Ron was sitting on one side of him and Hermione on the other. Apparently, the reason Ron hadn't been with Harry when Malfoy had stopped him was because Ron had been having a heated row with Hermione about Harry. Ron had followed her to the Common Room, Hermione had asked where Harry was, Ron had said he didn't know, Hermione had accused him of losing him, and then Ron had asked angrily if she only cared about Harry. What followed had been a pretty nasty flinging of accusations. It seemed that Ron thought Hermione liked Harry _that way and Hermione, (whether consciously or not) to get revenge, was now hovering around him. Harry was almost embarrassed by them; what if Snape saw and thought he had childish friends? Come to think of it, he _did_ have childish friends. _

"Okay that's enough!" he burst out.  Ron and Hermione stopped arguing about how much Harry needed to eat.

"Please! Just sort this out okay? Ron, Hermione doesn't like me that way! Hermione, Ron likes _you that way! I'm going to get my books." With that said, Harry left a gaping Hermione and Ron to get his Potion and Transfiguration books.   _

TBC

Haha! You'll never believe it, but the hardest part of this chapter was the Sorting Hat song! MWAHAHA! I am the first person that I have found who has had the Sorting Hat song in their fic! I got all those names from my school directory. All those Pre-Kindergartners! Anyway, I hope you all thought Draco was accurate. I had to re-read some parts of the books to remember what Draco was really like. I've read so many fanfics that the real Draco Malfoy was hard to remember. He is pretty obsessed with Harry isn't he? Like in the second book, when he's in Borgin and Burkes and is talking about Harry to his father? That's the greatest! Anyway, what about Ron and Hermione eh? Heeheehee. Snape was a little interesting in this chapter wasn't he? I think I'll have to do the next chapter in his head. He said Harry's name! Hmmm…..*plays romantic music*

So, liked it, hated it? REVIEW!

And no, Harry doesn't need to grow, I like him short and cute and so does Sev! So there! ^^    __


	12. Back to School

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Potter Universe. It all belongs to the amazing J.K. Rowling, who, I might add, is a genius! I only like to force the characters to do things they would never do without the assistance of chemical substances!!!! _

_Pairing: Harry/Severus …. If this freaks you out, then PLEASE don't read any further_

_P.S. Harry is underage, even in the __U.K.__ okay? He's in his 5th year in this fic, but don't worry, it doesn't get really heavy for a while…maybe not ever, because I don't have much confidence in writing naughty scenes like that. -_

_Summary: Harry tries a blood magic potion to better understand his summer potions homework, but mixes up the name with another potion that binds the drinker to his or her most compatible match in ability – a soul mate, if you will(not necessarily romantic, for instance, siblings are often bonded). Guess who Harry gets bonded with?_

_Spoilers: All the books except the 5th one because I started writing this before that came out._

_Author's Note: Yes, I know there are several fics out there just like this one. Sorry._

_Hey guess what gang? Only a few more chapters till the Christmas KISSING scene!!!! Wahoo! So excited!!! But hold on for a few more chapters please?!?!! _

_P.S. I hope me writing this isn't pointless, considering I have read the 5th book and it totally and completely cancels out everything I've written…if you don't think I should continue the story, let me know. My long absence was due to a 3 week overnight camp then a 2 week road trip, and then school and PSATs! *ducks hurling stones* Sorry!_

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Chapter 12: Back to Class

            Harry walked hastily to the Potions classroom. For some unfathomable reason, he wanted to be the first one there (if Harry was honest with himself, the reason wasn't unfathomable at all; he wanted to impress Snape).

            Harry was indeed the first person in the classroom. After all, who would _want to get to Potions early? _

            Harry sat down in his usual chair in the back and took out his books, parchment, and quill from his bag, then set them up around him in an attempt to look studious. He was just straightening his stack of parchment when Snape stalked in, robes trailing behind him. He shot Harry a look that said quite plainly, "What the blazes are you doing in here?" before rummaging through the equipment cabinet in the corner. Harry busied himself with smoothing out his quill, shooting furtive glances over at Snape, who was setting up his cauldron and ingredients for the day's potion. 

            "Is there a reason you are here ten minutes early, Potter?"

            Harry jumped. He hadn't expected Snape to say anything.

            "Er… not really," said Harry lamely.

            "I see," Snape's sarcastic drawl suggested to Harry that he did not 'see' at all.

            Harry bent over his parchment and occupied himself by writing NOTES on the top of the page. He desperately wanted to strike up a conversation with Snape, but what would they talk about? Snape seemed like the kind of person who would find small talk tedious. He couldn't just say, "So Professor, how about that rain we've been having, eh?" Harry snorted; the idea was ludicrous.

            "May I ask what it so amusing, Potter?"

            Harry jerked his head up and saw that Snape had once again put his hair in a ponytail. He must have just done it. The look Snape was wearing was one of offense; Snape obviously thought he was laughing at his hair.

            "Oh – I wasn't laughing at you, sir." Harry said quickly. 

            Snape raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" 

            "Er – yeah." 

            Snape looked at him for a minute longer before returning to his tasks at his desk. Harry breathed a sigh of relief, then turned back to his blank parchment. _Great, Potter. Way to impress him, really._

Several long, strained minutes later, the bell rang loud and shrill. Thundering sounds of footsteps could be heard from above, and Harry sat up straight. Snape stalked over to the door and threw it open, shot a nasty glance at Harry as if to say, "You should have been coming in here _now_", then swept over to his desk and sat down. Harry shuffled his feet embarrassingly against the floor. His hopes that he could share some form of what normal humans call conversation before class were dashed. _Just my luck_ Harry thought bitterly as Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and the rest of the Slytherins trickled in. Malfoy shot Harry a knowing smirk which was very off-putting. Harry raised one eyebrow at him in response (another facial expression absorbed from Snape), then looked back at his parchment. Malfoy didn't _look_ like he had been up all night….

            "Hurry up!" Snape barked as Lavender and Parvati scuttled through the open door. Neville stumbled in behind them and narrowly missed being hit by the door slamming shut. He squeaked and hurried over to a chair. Snape waited until everyone was sitting, then, with a flick of his wand, the chalk rose and began writing the potion of the day on the board.

            "Finnegan! Collect the homework!" Everyone jumped and the sound of rustling parchment filled the room. Harry placed his essay neatly on the right side of his cauldron and looked back at Snape. He started a little to see that Snape was already looking back at him. He was sneering and looked pointedly at Harry's essay. Harry's face grew hot with anger. Just because he had screwed up royally with the blood potion he had made didn't mean he didn't know what he was talking about! He had worked hard on that essay! _It was actually three and ¾ feet long…Harry thought grumpily. _Three more inches than the required length! Take that!__

Some of the challenge must have shown on Harry's face because Snape's scowl turned into a smirk/eyebrow raise of amusement. This only sent Harry into another fit of righteous anger at the thought of not being taken seriously. 

            And so it went on from there; the class passed with the usual point deductions from Gryffindor and the success of the Slytherins. By the time the bell rang, Harry was beginning to remember just why he hated Snape so much. Why bother trying to impress a man who was so _un_-impressible? _There's no point, none at all!_ he thought angrily, shoving his potions book into his bag. They were supposed to be soul mates! Bah! Harry swung his bag over his shoulder nearly knocking Neville off his stool, and stormed out. 

            "Potter!" 

            "What?" Harry yelled savagely, spinning on his heel. It was Malfoy.

            "Easy there, Potter, no need to get your knickers in a twist," the blonde said smoothly. "You left your notes on your desk." A pale hand held out Harry's notes. Harry glanced at them suspiciously, then looked back at Malfoy. He noticed with some interest that Crabbe and Goyle looked dumbfounded. That meant that there couldn't possibly be some trick involved…but then, Crabbe and Goyle looked dumbfounded most of the time…oh forget it. 

            "Thanks," he grumbled, snatching the parchment scroll. 

            "See you around," Malfoy said softly. He gave Harry a significant look before putting on his usual smirk and swaggering away with Crabbe and Goyle. Harry stood there for a moment then shook his head and stuffed the scroll in his bag. Malfoy was just getting weirder and weirder.

            Suddenly, Harry became aware that he was the only one left in the corridor. Surely Ron and Hermione hadn't left without him? Harry took about three steps before another person called his name. 

            "Potter!"

            Harry's back stiffened. Snape was standing in the doorway looking at him coldly. 

            "Yes Professor?"

            "Why are you still here?"

            Harry's jaw clenched. "I'm sorry sir, I didn't realize it was against the rules to stand in your presence! I'll just go, shall I?" With that said, Harry turned and raced up the stairs to the Great Hall, very ready for lunch.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Could you pass the butter, Ron?"

            "Of course, Hermione."

            "Thank you."

            "You're welcome… Do you need any salt?"

            "No, but thank you for asking, Ron."

            "No problem."

            "Someone gag me."

            "Fred!"

            Harry rolled his eyes as Fred pretended to moan in pain from the sharp slap on the head Angelina had given him. 

            "Honestly, you two are as bad as Mum and Dad!" George scolded, looking positively revolted at the pair of them.

            Ron's face could rival the ketchup bottle.

            Harry grinned, albeit a little evilly. He hadn't quite forgiven them for leaving without him just yet. 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            That night Harry, seeing that Ron was busy with Hermione establishing their "relationship", went up to the dormitory by himself and, rather reluctantly, dragged out his potions notes from that day. He sat down on his bed and unrolled the scroll – and a note dropped out.

            _What? Harry thought, peering at it. His jaw dropped. It was from Malfoy! It was just a short message, really. The sprawling, spidery handwriting merely said he wanted proof that he had chosen the right side. Harry smirked. Malfoy had just given him the perfect chance to act out his "mission". _

            Well, he'd give him proof all right. Right after he stopped thinking about his Potions professor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Severus Snape was in a foul mood after dinner that night. He had a pile of summer papers to mark and cruel indigestion. Severus growled at a wayward first year in his path (said first year squealed in terror and fled) and swept off to his dungeon chambers. He was looking forward to making a nice stomachache remedy and was in no mood for distractions. Unfortunately, his wishes were not granted.

            "Ah, Severus! I was hoping to catch you here!"

            Severus stopped in his tracks and groaned. Albus was standing in front of him wearing that bright smile that only meant one thing: he had some bee in his bonnet about something Severus should do.

           "Well there's no need to sound so pleased," the Headmaster chucked indulgently. Severus scowled, but said nothing. His temper was running so short that he thought if he opened his mouth, something would explode. The Potter brat had thrown him completely off balance with that little classroom stunt and he had been in a foul mood the whole day trying to work it out. 

            "So," the Headmaster rocked on his heels and put his hands behind his back. The man's expression looked awkward, and if Severus had been in a slightly better mood, he would have lifted an eyebrow in astonishment that the Headmaster could look that way.

            "Ah, I heard your first class of the year was eventful as always."

            Severus stared.

            "You…heard?" said Severus snidely.

            "Well, I _observed, I suppose. Yes, that would be a better word wouldn't it?"_

            It wasn't really a question, so Severus said nothing. He crossed his arms and flexed his fingers impatiently. Where was the man going with this?

            "I noticed young Harry looked quite upset at lunch…," the old man trailed off as if hoping Severus would provide some sort of explanation. None was forthcoming. 

            "Oh Severus, stop it!" The Headmaster waved a hand at Severus' face as though trying to banish the scowl that had taken residence there. "I must say I am a little disappointed that you couldn't at least make some small effort in making this easier for Harry!"

            Severus growled and his arms dropped to his sides, fists clenched in outrage. "Oh yes, it's always about _Harry_, isn't it? Never about what _I_ need! Have you spoken to your pride and joy Albus? Have you asked _him to 'make some small effort'?"_

            "I am asking him right now, Severus." Albus said calmly. This shut Severus up.

            "Severus," The Headmaster's tone was soft now, and he reached out and touched the Potions master's shoulder gently. "You are the adult here. You were making excellent progress with Harry as of late. I would hate to see that progress be wasted."

            Severus' ramrod-straight back suddenly slouched. The unfairness of it all seemed to have disappeared and was replaced with grudging responsibility. That always happened when Dumbledore used that 'I would hate to see' line.

            "What do you want me to do?" he asked hollowly. "Apologize?"

            Dumbledore's eyes glittered. "Not exactly. I don't think you're quite ready for that yet."

            Severus glared but said nothing; he _wasn't_ ready for apologizing.

            "All I ask is that you keep in mind Harry's feelings. Is that so hard?"

            Snape harrumphed but said nothing else.

            "Good. I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast then." Dumbledore gave him one final nod, then turned and glided off. 

            "What a day," Severus muttered, shaking his head as he dissembled his wards.

            Later that night, after he had been properly supplied with a large glass of scotch and a stomach settling potion, Severus sat down with the fifth year summer essays, red ink and quill in hand.

            "Poorly explained," he murmured in between sips, dragging the quill through a sentence. "Needs more examples," 

            Twenty minutes late, Severus picked up Potter's essay. He shifted in his seat, then began to read. 

_            The affect of human blood on potions varies depending on the type of potion being created, but always creates a bond between the giver of the blood and the resulting potion. Human blood is usually used in Dark or Protection potions while animal blood contributes necessary magical properties, such as that of the Salamander which has powerful curative and restorative properties…_

            And on it went. Severus was actually impressed at the amount of research Potter had actually done. If only the boy put this much effort into actually making a potion. 

            Reluctantly, Severus scrawled an A on the top of the page and wrote: _Impressive for such a person who rarely puts any thought into an essay. If this keeps up, you may actually earn an Acceptable in your OWLs._

            'There,' Severus thought. 'That ought to satisfy Albus.' 

TBC (hopefully soon)

Yeah I know it's short. 

Okay PLEASE don't waste the review space by telling me how long that took. You can all yell at me via my email which is posted in my bio. The long wait was due to a number of issues:

1) Summer: I was deprived of my computer for most of the summer

2) School: school has restarted and I have not found much time for ANYTHING really except schoolwork

3) Writer's block: ashamed as I am to admit it, I do have a bit of a block going on. With the 5th book out, it's hard to write a 5th year story, and also I just wanna skip to the first kiss chapter, but I can't (even though you all want me to) because their relationship needs to develop more. 

4) I have this HUGE craving to post another story that's been going around in my head, but I refuse to start it until I've got a good handle on this one.

5) The 5th book: I almost dropped the story after I read the OotP because so many new things came up and this story is basically AU now because of it. 

Okay, so there. I owe you all so much thanks for sticking by this story and you have no idea how much I appreciate it! Please use the Review space for something about the story, maybe what you think should happen next or just encouragement cuz I REALLY need it! Thanks again! HARRY/SEVERUS FOREVER!!!!!!          


	13. Being Prepared

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Potter Universe. It all belongs to the amazing J.K. Rowling, who, I might add, is a genius! I only like to force the characters to do things they would never do without the assistance of chemical substances!!!! _

_Pairing: Harry/Severus …. If this freaks you out, then PLEASE don't read any further_

_P.S. Harry is underage, even in the __U.K.__ okay? He's in his 5th year in this fic, but don't worry, it doesn't get really heavy for a while…_

_Summary: Harry tries a blood magic potion to better understand his summer potions homework, but mixes up the name with another potion that binds the drinker to his or her most compatible match in ability – a soul mate, if you will. Guess who Harry gets bonded with?_

_Spoilers: All the books except the 5th one because I started writing this before that came out._

_Author's Note: Oh my god. I'm back. I can't believe it. This story is COMPLETELY AU now, but that's ok, according to all of the reviews I've gotten. I can't thank you all enough for hanging in there. Here we go:_

Chapter 13: Being Prepared

The next morning found Harry slack-jawed and exhausted. He had gotten about three hours of sleep due to a constant stream of doubts, worries, and bouts of anger over Snape and Malfoy. The last thing he remembered before falling asleep had been Malfoy's question to him that first night;_ "Are you confident?"_ If he was honest with himself, he hadn't been that confident, and now, he was ready to throw his arms up into the air and give up. Not only did he have to deal with the normal pressures of school and being a teenager, but he had soul mate and the impossible task of changing all of Lucius Malfoy and Voldemort's handiwork. Failing wasn't an option. Harry was beginning to understand how Snape must have felt that night he had returned to the castle no longer a spy.

"Hey, mate, alright?"

Harry turned groggily to Seamus and nodded. "Didn't get much sleep, that's all."

"Wonder why," said Seamus, waggling his eyebrows at Ron. "It wasn't Neville's snores that were keeping us all up!" Seamus and Dean howled with laughter, and even Neville chuckled at the joke. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Shut up, Seamus," Ron hissed as Hermione made her way over to them. There was a scuffle as Ron shoved Seamus down a seat to make room for Hermione. Harry looked on as Hermione and Ron exchanged awkward 'good mornings', then looked down at his uneaten toast. It was so easy for them. They were the same age and in the same house, and were friends, not to mention opposite genders…it was easy for them to be close.

'Wait a minute, Harry,' he thought, rubbing his hand over his eyes. 'Don't get soul mate confused with something else.' How could he even be thinking that way? Snape had already made it clear that the small period of understanding and civil conversation had been a fluke of some sort. They had nothing in common; no link to speak of, except the link created by a series of unfortunate circumstances. That was all…Harry felt like he had just chugged a can of stone cold soup, like the kind Aunt Petunia used to give him for lunch.

"Well, c'mon Harry, Herbology is about to start," said Ron.

Harry sighed wearily, then picked up his bag and followed Hermione and Ron out to the greenhouses. It wasn't until he got inside that he realized that his limit was definitely going to be tested this year.

"Alright everyone, pay attention now," Professor Sprout tapped her wand against a glass tank filled with what looked like magenta coral with teeth. "We are starting this year with the study of underwater plant life. We will be making use of the lake many times this year, and we must go over safety regulations!"

"What about safety regulations when _he's_ around?" someone whispered behind Harry. Instantly, Harry stiffened. No one around him had heard…Harry felt hot anger curling in his stomach, and the back of his neck burned. Whoever it was had been talking about him. He could tell, and he felt sick. It suddenly hit him that he was in a greenhouse full of Hufflepuffs. He hadn't been prepared for them to be angry at him. Upset, yes. Heartbroken, of course. But mean and cruel? That was what he had expected from Malfoy.

"As you are all aware, the lake is home to many creatures, including the giant squid and the Merpeople. Most of the plants we will study will be brought to us by them, but there will be days when we will go into the lake," said Professor Sprout. "I will of course inform you of when these days will be when the time comes. Today we will be looking at the most common underwater plant life. Everyone, gather around and meet the Snapping Snake-Coral!" Everyone shuffled forward, sounds of slight interest filling the greenhouse. Someone shoved into Harry's back.

"Oh, sorry about that," the same voice said again, sounding anything but sorry. Harry turned and saw a boy that he knew by sight, but not by name.

"It's okay," he said quietly. He felt almost as if he deserved whatever the Hufflepuffs threw at him. He knew what some of them must have thought; that he'd somehow been responsible, or that he was some pint-sized celebrity desperate for more attention. Well, he was responsible wasn't he?

Lunchtime found Harry in the library, reading up on the Snapping Snake-Coral. After the boy had shoved him, Harry had ended up tuning out everything that was said during the lesson. The only thing he had learned by the end of it was that the boy's name was Zacharias Smith, and he had been on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team with Cedric; he knew he had seen him somewhere. He had also learned that his worries that he wouldn't be able to talk with Malfoy because of his friends hanging around with him were baseless. Hermione and Ron seemed very keen to be alone – they didn't even notice when Harry had walked to the library instead of the Great Hall. Harry shook himself and turned the page. Now was the time to focus, not feel sorry for himself. He was just reading that the Snapping Snake-Coral preferred to grow in shallow water and nip at children's toes when a shadow fell across the page.

"Do you plan to survive on toast and syrup alone, Potter?"

Harry looked upside down at Snape, trying to think of a good comeback. When he couldn't think of one, he shrugged, and looked back at his book. _Please let him go away._

"I suppose I shouldn't complain that you find your studies so riveting that you feel the need to skip a meal."

Harry pressed his lips together and put down the book. "What do you want?"

Snape let out a sarcastic chuckle and walked around Harry's chair so that he was standing in front of him. "I hope you don't speak to all of your professors with that tone, but it wouldn't surprise me if you did. I, however, will not tolerate it. A point from Gryffindor."

Harry gaped up at him, anger filling his gaze. This man was impossible. He grabbed _Plants and Beasts of the Depths_ and stuffed it into his bag, meaning to leave.

"Sit down, Potter, I didn't come find you so that you could run off."

"Then what did you come find me for," Harry muttered, sitting back down, staring at his lap.

Snape sneered down at the mop of unruly hair, then said, "I came to arrange a time for you to meet with me for the tutoring we discussed."

Harry blinked. Oh, the advanced medical potions that Dumbledore wanted him to learn. 'For the war', Dumbledore had said. He said nothing and continued to stare at his knees.

"I shall inform the Headmaster that you do not share his sentiments regarding preparation for the troubled times ahead," said Snape tauntingly.

Harry's head snapped up, his eyes narrowed. He stood up suddenly, looking Snape in the eye. The fact that they were now mere inches apart didn't sway him at all.

"Don't talk to me about being prepared!" Harry whispered angrily. "Are you prepared? Are any of us? The Hufflepuffs hate me, the Slytherins want me dead, my own friends don't care, and you can't stand to be in the same room with me! How can anyone be prepared for that?"

Snape said nothing for a long moment, raising his eyebrows with narrowed eyes. Finally, he spoke, his voice low and smooth. "I am offering help, Potter."

The anger flew out of Harry like a deflating balloon. He suddenly realized how close they were and looked to his side. "What time did you have in mind?" he said, ashamed of his outburst.

Snape exhaled softly, then said, "Come to the O.W.L. placement Potions room after dinner. It's across the corridor of your classroom."

Harry nodded sheepishly and picked up his bag. Snape turned on his heel and began to leave, before turning back to say, "And don't skip any more meals, Potter."

Harry forced himself to swallow the meat pie he had been chewing. He felt like a Snapping Snake-Corral was living in his stomach, writhing and nipping. It was a good thing Ron and Hermione were too busy talking together, or else Harry would have had to come up with some explanation for his nerves.

Harry snuck another glance at the teacher's table. Snape was looking as composed as ever, apparently disinterested in whatever Professor Sinistra was talking to him about. Ever since their conversation that afternoon, Harry had been thinking about what Snape had said. _'I am offering help.'_ It wasn't what he had said that made Harry so frazzled, it was the way he had said it. He had sounded as if he understood, or at least felt empathy for what Harry was going through. And that low, rich voice had made it impossible to concentrate on what Flitwick's high-pitched squeak had been talking about in Charms. It looked as though he'd have to interrupt Hermione and Ron's flirtations for a few minutes later to ask for her notes.

Half an hour later found Harry making his way down to the O.W.L. placement Potions room. Most likely, this would be the only time he'd ever set foot in that room. Harry wasn't counting on getting the qualifying grades on his N.E.W.T.s, and Snape hadn't ever given him an 'acceptable', which was the bare minimum for the O.W.L class. Oh well, it wasn't like he would miss Potions: cauldrons exploding, Neville disasters, Malfoy messing with him, Snape…Harry stopped thinking about it and knocked on the door.

Severus strode to the door and opened it to reveal a nervous looking Potter. He sneered in greeting, then turned and walked up to the blackboard.

"We will begin with the basics, Potter. If you plan on taking the elective taught by Madam Pomfrey and myself, you will already be ahead." Snape said all of this curtly but without the usual scorn in his voice. Harry sat down at the desk in the front and pulled out his Potions ledger. He opened it, and saw his notes from yesterday's class and the note Malfoy had written.

"Professor?" he blurted. Snape swiveled around to look at him, a glare on his face from being interrupted.

"A question already? Are you so incapable that you –"

"It's not that," said Harry, ignoring the older man's glare. "Malfoy gave me this yesterday." He held up the note.

Instantly, Snape's expression changed to calculated suspicion. "Let me see it." Harry leaned across his table and handed him the note, chewing his bottom lip anxiously. "I don't know what to do."

Snape's eyebrows drew together as he read the note. "He's acting quicker than I expected," he murmured. Severus felt the beginnings of something that felt a lot like concern start to grow in his mind. He remembered when he found Malfoy on the stairs with Potter that first night. Instinctively he had intervened, but instead of wanting to cause Potter trouble, he had wanted to get Malfoy to release his hold on the boy. Malfoy easily could have overpowered Harry, could have easily thrown him down the stairs…an ironic end for the Boy Who Lived. This unpredicted feeling of concern dashed any thoughts of productive learning that Severus had planned.

"Potter, I do not wish to frighten you –" Severus almost stopped there. He had never thought he would say something that absurd to a Potter. "I do not wish to frighten you, but I do not want you to be alone with Malfoy. For any reason."

The boy's eyes widened. "But – but I have to make him see…Dumbledore asked me to –"

"Yes, I know what the Headmaster asked of you." Snape clenched his teeth. Damn that man. Manipulating the boy, just like always, making him feel that he had some sort of _duty_. "However, unlike Dumbledore, I _know_ the Malfoy family. I know what Lucius is capable of, and I have no doubt that young Malfoy has been taught quite a few things at home. He may be a snotty brat," Potter's mouth curved slightly at this. "but he is also the son of an evil man." Severus' eyes took on the look of hot coals as he spoke. "Potter, if you ever find yourself alone with him, I want you to alert me. It does not matter what time it is or where you are, just do it."

Potter stared, dumbfounded. "How? I don't understand."

Severus began to pace. The feeling he had felt when he first asked the boy into his office was returning. That feeling of crossing a line, never to be uncrossed…but what choice did he with me to my rooms."

Harry couldn't believe it. He was standing outside of Snape's private chambers, about to go into the most dreaded place besides Filch's office. 'The Snake's Nest' as it was fondly called by the student body. He watched as Snape performed a complicated wandless spell with his hands, and glanced nervously up and down the corridor. He was still completely baffled as to what Snape was going to do.

"In," Snape commanded, holding the door open. Harry nervously entered, and Snape shut the door quickly behind him.

"Sit here. Don't touch anything. I'll be back." With that, Snape stalked over to a door across the room, threw it open, then slammed it shut, leaving Harry in the middle of what appeared to be a sitting room and a den combined.

Harry looked around taking everything in. The room was stone, like the rest of the dungeons, with huge tapestries covering the walls, most showing strange yet beautiful serpents. Harry looked at them all one by one, mesmerized by the colors and shapes. He felt awkward for having such a fascination with snakes, as it forcibly reminded him of Voldemort, but he couldn't help it; they were beautiful.

Finally, he tore his eyes away to look at the rest of the room. Along the right wall was a large bookcase filled with what Harry assumed were Snape's private potions texts, and a desk with neat stacks of parchment arranged on it. Harry walked over and examined a large black feather quill in an inkwell. Was this the feather plume that Snape graded their papers with? Harry reached out and smoothed it over with his fingertips. Did Snape ever do that? Harry smiled slightly, then remembered that he wasn't supposed to touch anything. He turned and walked over to a long couch that was situated in front of a dim fire set in a black marble mantle. Above it was the Slytherin crest. Harry sank down onto the sofa, his mouth slightly open, eyes locked on the crest. It truly hit him then. Severus Snape, Head of Slytherin House, Potions Master of Hogwarts, was his soul mate. Everything in this room was now a part of him, a part of his soul, because it was part of Snape. Harry had the urge to cry and smile at the same time. He vowed right then and there, that no matter what Snape said or did, no matter what happened, or what kind of relationship came from this, he would make it work. He didn't want to be scared anymore, he didn't want to be alone anymore. Tears prickled in his eyes, and he bit his lip, clutching the cushions of the couch. The door slammed open, breaking Harry's thoughts.

"Potter, where did you – oh, come here." Snape motioned for Harry with his hand, and Harry got up slowly and walked over to him. Snape didn't appear to notice a change in Harry's demeanor; he was preoccupied with a small rectangular box in his hands. He took a deep breath, then looked down at Harry with a serious look on his face.

"Potter," he began, straightening his back. "These are the Snape family rings." He opened the shining black box, white hands contrasting sharply against the wood. Harry saw two thin silver rings, inset with a band of black onyx. "They are passed on from generation to generation, meant for myself and one other person of my choosing." Harry looked up at Snape, sensing that something momentous was taking place. "And of course, there are several charms and spells cast upon these rings, one of which will alert the other when needed. Therefore it is the most appropriate method I can think of which will alert me to your needs." Snape looked slightly awkward now, a look Harry had never seen. "Also, since you are – ah, my soul mate," Snape paused as though needing to recover from that admission. "It seems only befitting that you should wear the other."

There was a short silence. Harry took a deep breath, then said, "Alright."

Snape cleared his throat, then put the box on his desk, and slid one of the rings onto his own ring finger. It fit perfectly.

"Now, there is a small ritual part to this," Snape said curtly. "All you have to do is say 'yes'. Can you manage that?" A small bit of familiar sarcasm entered his voice. Harry nodded, butterflies filling his stomach. He was beginning to get that feeling of heat in his neck and face again.

Snape picked up the other ring, and reached down for Harry's left hand. He held it gently in his own, and it struck Harry how much bigger and older Snape's hand looked. Not unattractive older, just…older. His face felt hotter than ever.

"Harry Potter," Harry looked up and met eyes with Snape, the man's low voice filling his ears. "Do you accept this ring as a symbol of our bond and the blood of the family that is present in me, Severus Snape?"

Blood pounded in Harry's ears. _Family._ That's what he had said. His greatest desire that he had seen four years ago in the Mirror of Erised.

"Yes," he whispered. _It's all that I want. _

Snape pushed the ring onto his finger. It fit perfectly.

TBC


End file.
